The Roman Empire: Their Pagan Religion

At one time, all of Rome was united by a common religion. This religion, commonly referred to as the Roman religion, was derived from the religion in Greece. Members of this religion, which included the majority, if not all, of the Roman citizens, worshiped many different gods, including the creator or father god, Jupiter, the sun god, Apollo, the god of inspiring wars, Mars, and many others as well. The popularity of this religion began to decline when Christianity arose. It appealed to the majority of the people, particularly the lower class and slaves, who now had something to put their hope and faith in. This religion spread rapidly, and Roman emperors felt that because it was so influential it would become a possible threat. These leaders began persecuting Christians, but many Romans had already committed to this religion and refused to abandon it because they viewed it as the most important part of their life. This led to a lack of patriotism in Roman citizens who then rejected politics and became independent of the government.

Romans accepted new gods on the condition that worshiping them would not challenge their religious beliefs or Roman rule and if the new gods addressed an aspect in life that they did not already have a god for. While the Romans did worship a lot of deities, they did not have religious conflict because they knew their religion well and treated each god with the same respect. Due to the respect placed on the gods, Romans only regulated actions undertaken by worshipers, but not their belief in their gods. They believed that every god deserved respect and was to be worshiped even if they were not Roman gods. 15.

For the Romans, religion was very important and a key factor in how they lived they everyday lives. It is through the writings of the period, such as those from the authors like Aulus Gellius and Propertius which allow us to see how the Romans understood the Gods. This is seen through how they treated and acted towards the Gods, how they treated religion and politics, how the believed the Gods acted and through the offerings and sacrifices in which the offered to them. The Romans believed that the Gods were Anthropomorphic and therefore behaved as human beings.

Ever since the beginning of human history, people have searched for a savior or a higher being that will bring the people out of their current predicament. Lucky for the people in the Roman Empire such a being exists. Except for some, they never realized the importance of Jesus Christ until the Romans themselves put their only hope of salvation to death. The Romans Religion was that of polytheism meaning that the Romans worshiped many gods. I am going to explain why the Roman Empire eventually fell, while at the same time Christianity flourished.

Much unlike how the United States is set up today with the church and state being separate from each other, Roman religion was tied together with the state and heavily influenced the overall well-being of Rome. In Ancient Rome, rituals and prayers played a tremendous role in society. As stated in Jo-Ann Shelton’s book, As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History, “The religion protected the state, and the state protected the religion. The two were interwoven, and religion was an intrinsic part of the very fabric of Roman society” (Shelton 359). In addition to the main gods, the Romans had spirits and other gods, like household gods, that they would pray and make sacrifices to. The relationship between the gods and the Romans can be described in several aspects of Roman society. The agricultural ideal the Romans displayed for the gods and the pietas shown towards the gods are some of the ways in which we establish a better understanding of the relationship of a Roman and the gods. Also, there is a unique similarity in Roman society between the Roman patrons and clients and Romans and their gods.

The Romans had their own religion, which collected and influenced from the lands they conquered. Their religious attitudes focused on two main things: a state cult, and a private concern. The half of temples was built for dedicating the emperors both living and dead. Most the Romans’ religion was fewer spirituals. Paganism was also appealing the Romans because it did not divine the physical and heavenly worlds as the Christians.

In the ancient Roman world, religion played the most important role in everyday life, as well as in matters of the state. The Romans looked to the gods for political stability and for control of the unexplainable and natural phenomenon. The gods were believed to control all aspects of Roman life, and for that reason, a great deal of importance was placed in the appropriate worship of the gods. Women played an extremely influential role in ancient Roman religion. Not only did they participate in religious rituals, but some even held religious positions as Vestal Virgins.

In the Roman Civilization where the prevalent worship of roman gods were impersonal and did not provide a moral base or a message of hope, in the fourth century Christianity was formed, born as a movement within Judaism Christianity emphasized the personal relationship between God and people slowly spread through the Roman Empire until ultimately dominating the western culture. Three of the several factors that aided to the growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire were; the central beliefs and value of Christianity, prominent figures, and Christianity appeal to women.

The first way that Roman is different than Christian is because of there believe in gods. While Roman’s had many god they belief in that they believed in and they would sacrifice items to the gods so positive things would happened and if something bad happened than people blame the king or whoever does the sacrifice to the gods. Many gods in the Roman Empire like Juno, Minerva, Jupiter, and many others. While Christian believed in one God and they do not sacrifice things or animals to God. Christian praises their god by praying and going to church.

The religious practices of the ancient Romans are best remembered with grand temples, great festivals and Christian persecution to the final acceptance of Christianity within the Roman empire over the

The Romans had a religion that they believed in but was not something concrete and was not of having a central idea. The religion was based on a mix of certain traditions and beliefs. Religion was not never really a big factor in their Empire. The Romans were stubborn with religion and this could be the reason they had an attitude towards these aspects of life. According to St. Augustine’s book Confession, he states that there were a lot of fake gods and there were two major religions in the Roman Empire. The very first religion was Paganism and that’s what his father was known to believe. Then the second main religion was Christianity which his mother believed in. The emperor of Rome at this time, Constantine himself was not a Christian when he conquered Rome, but rather he had a religious conversion when he won the fight with contending tetrarchs at the Milvian bridge in 306 AD, with help of image of the Cross. The

Rome fell around the year 410 A.D. That is a provable fact, since Rome was once a ruling empire. Although, it no longer is. The question is, however, what was the cause of such an inviolable city falling to sin? Was it a result of Christianity, or something else? Could the fall be a result of the “gods” that the Romans worshipped?

The relationship between Christians and the Roman Empire is complicated to say the least. Before the summation of the primary sources begin there must be a little background information provided. Rome was in power over a big portion of the Mediterranean region. A good portion of Christians lived under Rome’s rule. Rome was a very tolerant state when it came to religious flexibility. As long as you recognized the Roman God’s then they were tolerant with any other practices you decided to have. The Christians would not recognize the Roman God’s and that caused great friction. There are many primary sources historians have found on the relationship between the Christians and the Romans. The majority of the sources being used in this summation are from the Documents of the Christian Church the fourth edition. Also three primary sources from the times of Constantine, the emperor of Rome in the fourth century. The Romans start as thinking of the Christians as criminals, to being tolerant with them, to eventually they embrace the Christian faith.

Roman religion is the belief in the numina (divine powers), which control all natural affairs. It is systems of worship, which must be observed precisely and correctly to at least placate at best, enlist help from those powers.

– “The years as they come bring many agreeable things with them; as they go, they take many away” – Horace (65BC – 8BC)