Question

Describe the conditions in the Roman Empire that allowed Christianity to grow while the Empire itself declined. Using the Internet, an encyclopedia, or other resources, research the conditions in the Roman Empire which allowed Christianity to grow while the Empire itself declined. Focus your research between the years A.D. 90 and A.D. 400. Consider why religions tend to grow in times of conflict or trial. Write a report of 600 words.

Answer 1

The roman empire was one of the greatest empires ever, this empire was well organized and well communicated, they spread the word of god. Romans had multiple gods to worship, and had many temples to do so. In 310 DC the emperor recognized the Christianity as a religion, and 10 years after that it was the official religion in the empire. Other thing that helped spread Christianity was that it had less strict rules on food and behavior than the Jewish religion, and they also focused its preaching to those who had no religion at all. St. Paul started preaching for all the Empire, since he believed that the word of Jesus should be for everyone.

Answer 2

The period between 90 AD and 400 AD saw the pinnacle of the Roman Empire, and also the seeds of it's downfall in the West, and its transformation in the East. And in this process Christianity would play a pivotal role leading to the establishent of it as the official religion if the Empire, and later to become the most powerful institution in Western Europe.

Explanation:

The Roman Empire saw the pinnacle of its power between the Flavian and Antonine dynasties, a period that correspond between the 69-192. However, condtions in the empire began to deteriorate and with the death of Commodus the last Antonine emperor, the Third Century Crisis began. Harsh times enabled a religious sentiment to flourish all over the Empire. Religion tend to grow in this epoch as a response to what it seems the break of the status quo with wars, invasions and social unrest. However, Christians were only one of many sects and cults, with others such as the Isis cult and the Mitriacs also flourishing, but diferred in the fact that they were monotheistic and did not comulgate with the cult of the Emperor. This would lead to persecutions and martyrdom, specifically under Domitian by 302 with the Great Persecution.

But the conditions of the Empire continue to deteriorate, and also the evolution of the Imperial government to a more centralized view of the world began to appeal of a monotheistic religion. Christianity was becoming the dominant religion, and rapidly becoming a more institutionalized one. But it would be the reign of Constantine that would initiate its establishment as an institutionalized religion with the Edict of Milan in 313 that ended legal persecution, and then the Council of Nicea in 325 that created a common framework for the Christian cult and purged alternative views such as gnosticism.

Paganism would have a last chance with Julianus the Apostate, but his premature dead in 363 lead to the consolidation of the Church with Theodosius the Great that by 393 had effectively banned pagan celebrations, and effectively making Christianity the only religion of the Empire. By 400, the old Roman panreligious pantheon was wiped out, and a new cesaropapist system, that would survive in the Eastern Roman Empire until 1453, was firmly established.