The Development of Christianity Chapter 5-4

Religion in the Roman Empire The official state religion of Rome was one that believed in many Gods During the late Roman republic the state religion had begun to decline Augustus attempted to revive the state religion by holding traditional festivals & ceremonies The Romans themselves were very tolerant of other religions as the reason for so many gods, they adopted many of those that they had conquered Starting with Augustus the emperors themselves were officially made gods

The Rise of Christianity As Jesus preached & traveled across Judaea & Galilee his teachings won followers all across the Roman Empire Jesus preached that loving your neighbor & God were a persons most important duty Jewish leaders shared this idea as they expressed humility, charity, & love towards others Some saw Jesus as a rebel & the Romans put him to death on the cross only to have him rise from the dead Jesus' works were first oral history but later written in the New Testament By 100 A.D. there were Christian churches all through the Roman Empire

The Rise of Christianity The basic values of Christianity conflicted with the Greco-Roman belief in state gods As a result Romans began persecuting Christians witch caused the church to become more organized & committed as it continued to grow Christianity was personal & offered salvation for all people while Roman religion existed for the benefit of the state Despite persecution Christianity was given official tolerance

The Rise of Christianity Constantine became the first Christian emperor in 312 Under Theodosius the Great the Romans adopted Christianity as the official language of the Roman Empire With this the Christian church began developing a new structure in which the clergy, or church leaders, had different jobs separate from the laity, or regular church members