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Chapter 5, Section 4 The Rise and Spread of Christianity I. Background: Roman Religion Augustus brought back traditional Roman religious festivals The Romans worshiped many Gods like Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, and Mars All of the Roman Gods were based on Greek Olympic Gods Romans believed that if they observed the right rituals, they would be guaranteed peace and prosperity Romans also believed that if their empire was successful, it meant the Gods favored them Romans allowed all different religions to exist II The Jewish Background and the Rise of Christianity By A.D. 6, Judea was a Roman province under the direction of a procurator Judea-The Jewish Kingdom of Judah, now Israel Procurator-A Roman official in charge of a province There were many divisions of Jews living in Judea Sadducees- cooperated with the Romans Pharisees- Urged Jews to follow Jewish law to protect the Jewish identity Essenes- Were waiting for God to come to Earth to save the Jewish people Zealots- Told Jews to violently overthrow the Romans In 66, there was a revolt by the Jews against the Romans The Romans defeated the Jews and destroyed their temple in Jerusalem The temple was the center of Jewish worship During this time, Jesus, a Jew began to preach of the love of God Jesus taught people to love one another, treating all as neighbors Jesus’ teachings became the foundation of Western civilization: humility, charity, and love of others Jesus frightened the Romans because they thought he might tell the Jews to revolt against Rome Pontius Pilate (the procurator) ordered Jesus’ crucifixion Many people believed Jesus rose from the dead and Jews began to worship him as their Messiah Paul was one of the most important early Christians Paul spread the message of Christ to both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) around the Roman World Paul wrote many letters to Christian churches in the Roman world which eventually became part of the New Testament Romans were fearful of Christians because they refused to worship Roman Gods Many Romans felt that Christians would ruin public order and morals It was seen as a crime in early Rome to be a Christian People still worshiped in hiding and Christianity grew during the period of Pax Romana III. The Triumph of Christianity Because the Romans persecuted Christianity, it strengthened and became more organized The early Christian church organized people into clergy and laity Clergy- church leaders Laity- everyday church members Finally in the 4th century, the emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in the year 313 In the Edict of Milan, Christianity became one of the official religions of Rome Theodosius the Great later made Christianity the official religion of Rome