What conditions in the Roman empire allowed Christianity to grow while the empire declined?

Question

What conditions in the Roman empire allowed Christianity to grow while the empire declined?

Answer 1

The priests would force the natives to convert or they would kill them

Answer 2

Here are a few:

-Growing poor: The Roman Empire, as it expanded, depended on huge amounts of slave labor. The massive influx of slaves tended to put the small farmers and common workers, who prospered during the early Republic, out of business. These people formed the urban poor. Christianity started out strongest among the poor, and its message of salvation in another life and the spurning of earthly possessions was received most among the poor

The slave situation, however, contributed to Rome's decline, since, when the expansion of the Empire slowed down, it did not have as many people to enslave, and faced major labor problems.

-Plagues, Invasions, and War: From the third century on, Rome's situation got a lot more unstable. Plagues killed thousands of people, barbarians started raiding the Empire, and there were a number of bloody civil wars. In this climate, people were likely attracted to the promise of an afterlife (which traditional Roman religion did not believe in), and the idea that the woes of life are only a test from God. Such a sentiment would not have been as strong during Rome's golden years of peace and prosperity.

-Imperial favor toward the Church: From the conversion of Constantine in the early fourth century on, the Church was given great patronage by the Emperors. Churches were built at state expense, church councils had legal sway, priests and bishops were allowed to use the state infrastructure for their own purposes, ect. At a time when money was desperately needed to pay soldiers, money was spent on some of the most extravagant churches ever built. It had also been argued by the likes of Edward Gibbon (though I don't agree that this had much of an impact) that many people who would have served Rome better as soldiers or rulers instead became priests or monks, thus spreading Christianity at the expense of the Empire.

-The loss of Imperial control in the West: After the death of Justinian, control over the West, especially the recently reconquered Italian peninsula, sharply declined. But the Goths, who had been organized rulers of the region, had been wiped out by Justinian's armies. The result was a power vacuum in the West. This led to a sharp decline in the Empire, but it also allowed the Catholic Church to step in to exert control in this vacuum. The Church was the only force of centralized power, and took control of governing much of the West, achieving, slowly but surely, the level of influence it would have during the Middle Ages.

Answer 3

  1) Routes of communication. The empire was linked by its roadways and its sailing routes. Travel was relatively easy,albiet slow.  And it was as safe as any travel could be. This let people move about to spread the message.

   2) A fascination with religion and a tolerence of foreign belief. The Romans did not care what people worshipped, so long as they payed token homage to some of the state gods and Emporers.This homage didn't symbolize religious belief to them, but was a statement of loyalty to the Empire and its ruler. Thus, it was a secular crime not to fail to pay the proper sacrifices, not a religious one. This is why the early christians often got into trouble. The christians did suffer periodic persecution, usually because they were percieved as a disloyal and suberversive organization. But the persecutions were relatively short term, and often all an accused christian had to do was perform a public sacrifice to avoid punishment. Christianity's survival may well owe more to many such christians, rather than to the matyrs who preferred to die for their faith.

   Also, the romans were notororius for their interest in other religions, especially so called mystery cults. This night loosely be compared to how many Americans are interested in "non traditional" religions such as buddhism, wicca, and other non-christian religions.

  3) The message. You have to have a product to sell. In this case, christianity was superior to most, if not all other contenders. With christianity, that was of course the idea of heaven. And not just an idyllic afterlife. Other religions offered versions of such an afterlife. But it was an all-inclusive one. No matter one's social standing in the current world, one could hope to have an afterlife as good as that of a pharoah or king. Think on how the Egyptians believed that devout followers could look forward to serving the Pharoah for eternity. Who wouldn't rather BE the pharoah, and no longer have to serve another person?

   Also, christianity tailored itself to make it more palatable to the authorities. The various verses about the servant being loyal and serving his master well helped reduce fears that christianity would instigate rebellion. So masters would be less inclined to stamp out the belief among their slaves or servants, who were after all still performing their tasks with due dilligence. Finally, many of those ruling classes found comfort and a resonance with them. With some of the excesses common among the class, christianity offered up a set of ethics that harkened back to the older, classical virtues.

  4) Luck. The right person, namely Paul, who, consciously or not, recognised what it would take to make christianity more than a jewish cult. Early christian converts were expected to adopt the jewish Laws, living by the dietary and other rules there, not to mention the "elective surgery" required for males. Paul removed those requirements, claiming only belief was needed. It's a lot easier to convert to a religion offering heaven if you don't have to suffer a lot of discomfort in your current life. And luck in that none of the competing religions managed to find as effective a combination of messages.