Pagans And Christians In The Roman Empire

A Comparison of Pagans and Christians in the Roman Empire

Paganism is a fourth-century term that refers to the population in the Roman empire who practised Polytheism. It is essential to note pagans themselves did not describe themselves using this word, but early Christians coined it during the mid 4th century. Since the Christian Church created the definition of paganism, it is somewhat of a controversial term. When they initially invented this word, Christianity was still a minority religion; therefore, the acceptance and continued use of the name shows the significant impact Christianity already had in the empire. This essay will use the word pagan to describe the polytheistic groups of people and majority religion during the 3rd century

Christianity during the Roman empire is not the same as the Christianity around today. There was no official set doctrine, and Christians still participated mostly in a private space. What was important to Christians during this time in the Roman empire was communal prayer and devotion to god. Communal prayer was easy to achieve in private away from the eyes of Roman officials. Communal prayer was an opportunity for Christians in the empire to get together in smaller groups and read through scripture that was set and the same for all; they all had the same beliefs and practised in the same way, unlike Pagans. They would meet in small homes throughout the empire that had been converted into different spaces for religious activities; Source 2.4 shows a depiction of one of these early Christian houses. What Christians achieved through this communal prayer was an assurance to the community that they were devoted to the faith, “we nourish our faith with these holy words” (2.1). An assured devotion and a public devotion was critical to the success of Christianity. With this community prayer, it is apparent Christians found it necessary to be supported by each other. If you were not participating in the public assurance of the faith, were you rightfully a Christian? Since they were already facing so

Paganism was focused around sacrifice and belief in the power of gods and goddesses, whereas Christianity relied heavily on community interaction and overstated devotion. From the type of way, they interacted with their god(s) to the kind of communication they had in life. Paganism relied on self-knowing while Christianity thrived on public awareness. It was okay for pagans to worship and honour their gods in private and be the only one knowing, but for Christians to be faithful to their faith praying in groups and being overly devoted was ultimately an essential part of the religion. Besides the definite differences between the two religions, a second conclusion can consequently be met. Christianity’s public exposure and martyrdom might be the underlying reason it was able to sustain punishment and persecution and become one of the most well known and participated religions in the 21st century. With the knowledge attained from looking into the differences between paganism and Christianity, it is clear one would trump the other. Two substantially different religions that varied even at their most basic concepts such as the number of divinities represented where sure to cause troubles in the