Essay about The Romans and Christianity

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. Christianity offered hope to many, for it was the time of grace and freedom, the time to rebuild the future and

Judaism was a special case when it came to Rome. The religion was special because of its monotheism and its ethnic religious category. Jewish monotheism is the belief of one and

In Roman religion, it was crucial “to serve the gods and ensure goodwill” (The Roman Republic). The English word “Religion” comes from the Latin word “Religio” (Overview of Religion). Latin was the ancient language of Rome, but for the Roman’s the translation meant something very different from what we understand it as today. To the Romans, “Religio” translated to “ the fear of gods” (Overview of Religion). Romans invested much of their time serving the gods, performing rituals and sacrifices in honor of them. On the contrary, Greek religion did not prefer to execute rituals as much as the Romans. Greeks were more lenient when honoring the gods. They did not have a theological dogma: belief or principle. There was no specific way in which the religion was executed. The Greeks many gods had different purposes and works they performed. They relied more on the verbal spread of the religion rather than having a written form. Although different, both religions had forms of praising and honoring their gods. Greek and Roman religion have many differences and similarities that impacted each group of people.

Ancient Rome and Christianity experienced many similarities and differences throughout their time. Because the Roman World began their religion multiple years before Christianity began to erupt, therefore Christianity was persecuted by the Roman World. The Roman World based their religion off gods and goddesses while Christianity was based off of Jesus and his crucifixion on the cross for our sins. These religions share different but in some way similar purposes, virtue, and destiny.

In Roman religion it was crucial “to serve the gods and ensure goodwill” (The Roman Republic). The English word “Religion” comes from the Latin word “Religio” (Overview of Religion). Latin was the ancient language of Rome, but for the Roman’s the translation meant something very different from what we understand it as today. To the Romans, “Religio” translated to “ the fear of gods” (Overview of Religion). Romans invested much of their time serving the gods, performing rituals and sacrifices in honor of them. On the contrary Greek religion did not prefer to execute rituals as much as the Romans. Greeks were more lenient when honoring the gods. They did not have a theological dogma: a part of theology dealing with truths of faith concerning God and God's work. Their many gods had different purposes and works they performed. The Greeks relied more on the verbal spread of the religion rather than having a written form. Although different, both religions had forms of praising and honoring their gods. Greek and Roman religion have many differences and similarities that impacted each group of people.

Throughout the history of Rome, from the monarchy to the late empire, religion had played a great role in it's society and was involved in almost every aspect of the life of the Roman citizen. It was common for each house to have it's own patron god/gods and ,on special occasions, the head of the house would make a sacrifice to the personal gods of the family. Also, great festivals were usually held in honor of certain gods and would include spectacles like chariot races and Gladiatorial fights.

Religion played a significant role in the Roman civilization but, “many people believe that Rome was not a religious place. What they probably mean is that it was not a moral place.” (Burrell, 65) The Romans had innumerable gods that they worshiped which included giving gifts and sacrificing for their gods. Sacrificing animals was common for ancient Roman civilization. The idea of sacrificing came from the people before the Roman Empire was built. Religion primarily used sacrificing as a means of showing appreciation to the gods but later became a way to get things from the gods. The increases in the expansion of Rome lead to an increasing number of sacrifices. Roman sacrifice was done in many different ways and there were numerous

Christians went from being persecuted to dominating Rome rather quickly. In a world where separation between church and state does not exist, a Christian becoming the sole emperor of Rome symbolized a huge turning point in history. The power switched and the Pagans in turn became persecuted. Christians rose up and took control of all aspects of Roman society. The Pagan past was destroyed, banned, or forgotten about. Those Christians that did not agree with how things were being run either left the empire and became monks or formed their own sect. All of Rome changed.

The Jewish community started Christianity, but Christianity later spread and convert from all over the Greco-Roman world were attracted by this religion during the progress of the first century CE. Ideas, traditions, ways of worship and traditions were brought along by the new convert of Christianity and it was adopted by their faith. This is through art because Christians who were once pagans of the Roman Empire stick to their artistic heritage when they became followers of Jesus Christ. Roman artistic forms and motifs and also Roman architecture were being used by this new convert to express their new faith. In further explanation, we’ll see how Roman art influenced the developing art of early Christians.

The city of Rome was and is one of the most well-known cities of the world. It has always lured in huge visitors for its attraction for the elaborate Pagan temples or for the eloquent Cathedrals of the Rome. Now the city is known for being the center of the catholic faith. The city is interesting in a way that, it has not always been a Catholic hotspot. The city was originally under the control of the Romans who worshiped Pagan Gods. The Romans believed that Rome was a holy city chosen by their Gods (Cowling). The switch from being a Pagan centered place to a Christian centered place was not as easy transition for the city. It took time and perseverance. As the Christian influence started to build up, the face of the Roman city started to

How did Rome integrate religion into their society? Why do you think they were so open to adopting and co-opting the beliefs and practices of others?

On observation of the many ideologies that have gathered followers and made their mark in Ancient Rome, two draw attention as having been particularly prominent in their influence of the state and the attitudes they had gathered towards themselves within the Roman Empire- these being the Roman state religion and Christianity. These two ideologies contrast in their ideas, structure and the time period in which they reached their height in popularity and persecution. The polytheistic and ritualistic Roman state religion was widely in practice within the Roman Empire until its major decline in 4th century AD, during which it was supplanted by Christianity, a monotheistic ideology with more emphasis on individual faith and morality, as Rome’s official religion, the formal declaration of this being the Edict of Thessalonica issued on 27 February 380AD. The general attentive desire to upkeep the traditions of the state religion declined with increasing dominance of Christianity which during the first four centuries Anno Domini was in turn tolerated, persecuted, accepted and revered. The attitudes toward both of these ideologies (in Rome before 392 AD) can be better understood with the exploration of the reasons behind them and the changes that they undergo.

Although there was a great deal of hesitation among many of the aristocratic families concerning conversion, especially doing so on a public platform whilst it was punishable by law, several would, eventually, convert. One by one, the aristocratic families were converting to Christianity almost as if in units; one whole family, followed by another entire aristocratic family. Even so, it was not exclusively these upper class, politically powered families that were becoming Christian. In fact, according to historian Michele Renee Salzman, the aristocrats were among the last of the ancient Roman people to convert. According to historical records, those who identified themselves as Christian began, as previously stated, with the minority groups

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.

As most of the civilizations studied so far in Western Civilization – the Romans were a religious people. From the rise of the Roman Empire to the fall of its institutions, there was always a backdrop of religious involvement in the affairs of the state and people. Polytheism seems to reign throughout the majority of the Empire. Although the book states very little about the religious affairs of the people, one can conclude that this society was totally influenced by their beliefs that the gods had a hand in all the affairs of the State and of the people.