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Rachel Bacchus

Dr. Robert Grant

HIS 101-001

23 September 2019

From Gods to God: Evolution of Religion in Rome

Through all of its opposition, Christianity has become one of the most influential

religions in the world. Its origins with Jesus Christ in the Roman province of Judea may be most

well-known, but it is only one part of the complex narrative. Christianity gained followers

quickly but struggled to develop due to Roman opposition. However, under the authority of a

few distinct Roman emperors, Christianity managed to evolve into the power it is today.

In the second and third centuries BC, Roman ideas of religion greatly stemmed from

polytheistic Greek traditions of mythical gods and goddesses. Gods were adapted from the

pantheon into Roman culture (Spawforth 242). The Roman emperors were thought to be divinely

chosen and often referred to as the “Son of God”. To the Romans, religion was understood to be

ancient and well known for centuries; in other words, it was old and built upon traditions. It was

used as a way to explain natural phenomenon in place of scientific explanation. Many “mystery

religions” emerged as exclusive cults with member initiations and promises of rebirth. Due to its

uncommon inclusivity, one religion that stood out among all of the mystery religions was the

worship of the mythical King Osiris and Queen Isis. This belief grew popular among women

especially due to the strong character of Queen Isis; it promoted good values and the idea of life

after death not only belonging to the gods, but to the people of Rome as well.

            Since the emperors of Rome had already made the claim to be sons of the gods, the

emergence of Jesus did not disrupt Roman civilization when he then insisted he was the “Son of
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God”; instead, Jesus of Nazareth offended and challenged Rome when he rejected their political

system of warfare and denounced their religious system of polytheism. Jesus broke all the rules

of religion. In particular, he abandoned the established law of Judaism, distinguishing the new

religion of Christianity from the existing religion belonging to the Jews. Jesus preached to the

poor and the commoners, warning against government corruption and the dangers of wealth (The

Bible, 1 Timothy 6:9). He gave will and authority to the individual instead of the control of the

emperor. Most challenging of all, he preached that there were no other gods besides the one from

which he came, blatantly condemning the religious system embraced by all of Rome. Due to his

continuing offenses against Roman authority, Jesus was executed by means of the most common

death penalty in Rome: crucifixion.

 However, the death of Jesus Christ did not signify the end of Christianity. Those who

knew and traveled with Jesus were quick to “offer accounts of his life and afterlife… five of

these [accounts] survive today as books of the New Testament” (Spawforth 286-287). Jesus’

disciples and followers believed in his return and set out to spread their stories of Jesus with the

rest of the world. They journeyed and wrote letters to other nations in order to broaden the reach

of Christianity. The growth especially was made possible by Saint Paul. Paul was a citizen of

Rome and used this to his advantage to travel among the Roman provinces despite strict laws

(Spawforth 287). He informed his listeners that Christianity was not exclusive; anyone, even

those outside of Judaism could become a Christian (The Bible, Romans 15:8-12). Much like the

appeal of the inclusivity with the worship of Osiris and Isis, Christianity held similar beliefs and

morals and gained great support from the common people of Rome.

While all of this was taking place, Rome was in the middle of a period called Pax

Romana that would last for 200 years. This was an unprecedented era of peace and stability in
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the empire since the reign of Caesar Augustus in 27 BC (Spawforth 271-273). However, when

the empire began to lose strength, and the Crisis of the Third Century began, Rome was quick to

use the Christians as a scapegoat for all of the unrest. Though they received the majority of the

blame, the crisis did not directly relate to religion. Instead, it had everything to do with continued

attacks from outside barbarian countries and city-states along with Rome’s failing army.

Nevertheless, Roman government was insistent on placing the blame on Christians. This became

known as the Great Persecution or the Diocletian Persecution. Occurring in AD 303, the Roman

emperor Diocletian grew furious with Christians and their refusal to abide to Rome’s traditional

religious practices and values. He revoked their rights and restricted their Christian practices

through numerous edicts (Spawforth 285). Diocletian among other Roman emperors was

determined to halt the threat of Christianity before it became too powerful.

            Christians continued to receive periodical spurts of mistreatment from Roman

government and laws until the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine. Constantine I rose to power

around AD 306 and quickly restored to Rome much of what was lost during the Crisis of the

Third Century. He repaired armies and economies that had both failed and restructured the

government for a new age of the Roman Empire. Not only did he mend the damage done to the

political authorities of the empire, Constantine, though a practicing Pagan for most of his life,

tolerated Christianity. He passed the Edict of Milan in AD 313 which allowed the practice of

Christianity within the Roman Empire. Constantine was not converted to Christianity until he

was on his deathbed, but even as a Pagan, he viewed the move towards Christian tolerance with

significant political motivation (Spawforth 299). Instead of blaming Christians for causing the

Crisis of the Third Century, he viewed them as an opportunity to promote unity around his

empire. By passing the Edict of Milan, and even issuing government funds into the rebuilding of
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temples and churches, Constantine hoped to see a rebuilding of Roman stability parallel to the

Pax Romana. 

While unsuccessful in recreating an era of Pax Romana, Constantine left a legacy and

paved the way for Christianity to grow as a dominating religion among Rome. In AD 361,

Constantine’s nephew Julian emerged as the new Roman Emperor, and he was determined to

revert Rome back to its polytheistic and Pagan traditions. He restored Pagan places of worship

and confiscated temples and churches belonging to Christian groups and even “went [as far as]

barring Christians from teaching literature and public speaking” (Spawforth 309); ultimately, his

goal was to reinstate Paganism as the official state religion in Rome again. However, Christianity

had already spread so much within the rule of Constantine and his immediate successors.

Wealthy Christians had made their way into governing positions holding Roman authority, and

Julian’s efforts were unsuccessful; after his death, all of his efforts to prevent the growth of

Christianity were reversed. In AD 379, Theodosius I took the position of Roman Emperor. Now

in power, he created a series of edicts and with the Edict of Thessalonica (Spawforth 316),

Christianity became the official state religion of Rome in AD 380. 

Christianity has gone on to be one of the most popular and influential religions in the

world. However, by looking back through ancient Roman events it is evident that its history is

much more complex than most people realize. Without emperors like Constantine and

Theodosius, Christianity would not have been able to spread into further areas of western

civilization. Yet without the persecution that emerged from the third century crisis and emperors

like Diocletian and Julian, its success would not be as monumental in history. From its origins of

Jesus Christ of Nazareth to its growth into the official religion of Rome, Christianity was rising

in power and influence and ready to further impact the rest of the world.
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I pledge that I have acted honorably. 

 
Signed: ____Rachel Bacchus________

Works Cited

The Bible. King James Version, Tyndale Publishing House, 2015.

Spawforth, Antony. The Story of Greece and Rome. Yale University Press, 2018.