Question

Which of the following did the rise of christianity in rome help promote?

A. religious tolerance

b. polytheism

c. separation of church and state persecution of pagans

d. persecution of pagans
d. persecution of pagans

Answer 1

The rise of Christianity in Rome helped promote religious tolerance in Rome. Christianity sprung out from Judaism and many of their beliefs are similar. For a long time, Christians in Rome were persecuted. Under Constantine, Christianity became a well known religion in Rome. Slowly but surely, the persecution of Christians died down. The state chose to ignore these individuals rather than to continue persecuting them.

Christianity has gone through its ups and downs in Roman history. At one point Christians would even lose their citizenship in Rome due to being Christians. The spread of Christianity was very slow in Rome. It is hard for a new belief to become well known in any society. This did help build religious tolerance because people were learning to accept new beliefs.

Answer 2

The correct answer is: "D"

On February 27, 380, Christianity became the exclusive religion of the Roman Empire by a decree of Emperor Theodosius, which had far-reaching consequences.

The decree united the Judeo-Christian roots of the European continent with the Greco-Roman culture. Until the Council of Nicea, in the year 325, the Christian churches were burned down, those who professed the Christian religion were persecuted and their patrimony was confiscated. Particularly under the emperor Diocletian (245-316) Christian persecution intensified. Diocletian wanted to revive the old pagan cults and that these became the religion of the empire. But his anti-Christian policy failed and was eliminated by his successor, Emperor Constantine (285-337).

The military and administrative apparatus worked well in the Roman Empire. A free trade zone had boosted economic welfare. The inhabitants of Rome enjoyed civil rights, which promoted a growing cohesion among the population, however, there was no religious freedom.

For the practitioners of the Christian religion the situation improved. On February 27, 380, the Roman emperor of the East Theodosius (347-395) signed, in the presence of the Western Roman emperor Valentinian (371-392) and his co-ruler half-brother Gratian (359-383) a decree with the who declared Christianity the religion of the State and stipulated a punishment to those who practiced pagan cults. The decree "Cunctos populos" granted not only a preponderant place to Christianity, but also implied persecution against those who practiced another faith.