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How Does Religion Influence Rome?

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Rome needed a powerful way to control a huge population. Religion was a key power in governing and influencing Rome. Rome was an extremely large society. With such a large population, controlling the masses was required to keep Rome successful and powerful. Since the beginning of Rome’s history, religion had a profound impact on every citizen. The biggest belief in the Roman religion was that “spirits inhabited everything around them, people included. The first citizens of Rome also believed they were watched over by the spirits of their ancestors” (Wasson). There were a number of unique, individual gods that Romans believed in. The gods characterized feelings and emotions like love and hate, they characterized material things such as plants …show more content…

Originally, Christianity was kept hidden and small from the general public, but it was able to spread and grow discreetly. As the religion gained more and more attention in Rome, followers of the original Roman belief claimed “the Christian refusal to sacrifice to the Roman gods [...] was an insult to the gods and potentially endangered the empire which they deigned to protect” (Rockliffe). As a result, Christians were targeted for persecution and humility. Christians were seen as a direct opposition to Roman rules. The hatred of Christians spread throughout the empire, claims and accusations against Christians ranged from incest and cannibalism. All of these accusations show the massive impact religion can have on such a large empire. Hate and intolerance against Christians continued to flow through the empire through many emperors. However, in 312 A.D, Constantine would be the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. The sudden conversion of an anti-Christian empire still baffles historians today, but in the end, Constantine’s total conversion of the Roman empire would ultimately change it forever. Constantine founded Constantinople, the potential new capital for Christian Rome, he created churches, temples, and holy symbols throughout the empire. Also, Christians gained more rights and positions in the government, all because of

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