The Christian church nowadays presents a powerful source of influence with its power to define and alter the population’s perception of things. The current state of things was established during the Middle Ages, when Christianity was at its peak of influence and contributed to all areas of human lives, such as society, culture, philosophical perceptions, and ideas. Christianity’s influence during that period served as an accelerator for the cultural development of society. However, certain factors predicted Christianity’s future success even during its’ rise in the Roman Empire.
There were periods in history when Christianity first occurred, was not as powerful, and even persecuted by Roman policies. According to Kamm and Graham, the policies allowed existing of other cultures within the Roman empire as long as they accepted imperial rules and religion (436). This research paper will explore the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. By leveraging the western idea of piety through the prism of equality and freedom of thought, the Christian church was able to outlive the Roman Empire and succeed as a culture-maker of the Middle Ages.
Many modern ideas and concepts are similar to ancient ideas because ancient ideas and perceptions formed a foundation for modern concepts. Thus, to explore how the Christian church managed to effectively utilize some aspects of the Roman approach to religion, one should start with exploring how piety was approached in the Roman empire. Ancient Rome was one of the greatest ancient empires and the center of the civilized world. Thus, Roman perceptions of several concepts influenced the modern understanding of things (Boer 1). In the same way, the Christian church was greatly influenced by the Roman understanding of the piety of civilized, honorable, and loyal participants. According to Hoklotubbe, Christianity’s approach to piety was based on Roman virtues (205). The Christian church, the author of Pastoral epistles, appealed to the Roman virtues of piety to alleviate the external pressure and internal inconsistency.
A similar understanding of piety and its virtues could be found in the Greek perceptions. In Greek understanding, virtues meant an individual’s excellence or a glorious reputation (Martin 56). In both Greece and Roman Empire, the virtue of piety applied mostly to the socially advantaged population, such as the elite and social and political authorities. Christianity’s approach to piety presented all Christians as bearers of piety, which granted them one of the most esteemed virtues in ancient times. By strategically implementing the idea of piety in all Christians without reference to social status, the Christian church built confidence in the legitimacy of the Christian faith.
The introduction of piety and virtues contributed to Christianity’s appeal to freedom of thought. In comparison with other religions, Christianity presents a set of answers about God, human beings, and their place in the world. According to Ptaszek, the abovementioned character of Christianity, especially Catholicism, contributed to the rationality of the Christian perception (163). However, during the further development of Western culture, the virtues introduced by the Catholic church were perceived as rules and restrictions that slowed scientific progress (Ptaszek 170). Humanity strives to learn the truth about anything through the sense of rationality developed by Christianity’s influence. Learning the truth in modern understanding means freeing the intellect and mind or freedom of thought. Therefore, even though virtues introduced by the Christian church were limiting the people’s potential, the overall character of Christianity, in the end, defined the idea of freedom of thought.
Besides the influential input of Roman and Greek perceptions of piety, Christianity also appealed to equality based on the piety-oriented stoicism principles. According to Martin, stoics suggested that human beings should pursue excellence or virtue and believed that people live infinite lives (272). Stoics utilized an egalitarian principle as they believed their suggestions equally apply to men and women. They even suggested unisex clothing to emphasize the equality of all people (Martin 272). Lakoff suggested that the principle served as a foundation for the equality principle, where Jews and Greeks, slaves and free men, males, and females, were treated equally in the Bible (115). The news aspect of equality that did not consider the social status and hierarchy allowed the strengthening of the already existing ideas of virtues and provided more support to Christianity’s credibility.
Despite the influence of the Graeco-Roman world, the equality aspect of the Stoicism principle itself was weaker. On the other hand, the Christian approach to egalitarian ideas offered a more complex meaning and emphasized other aspects of equality, such as dignity and immortality of the soul. According to Lakoff, the egalitarian ideas introduced and developed by Christianity inspired several successful emancipation movements and rebels (117). Therefore, they not only served as moral principles but also presented a significant source of motivation, further proving why Christianity managed to last and outlive other civilizations, such as the Roman Empire.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the values of ancient Rome partially continued existing in Christianity and the values of the Christian church. Moreover, they were revitalized during the peak of Christianity in the Middle Ages. Some of the ideas established in the Roman Empire and ancient Greece could be distinguished in the modern concepts. For example, the modern term social justice was initially defined during the fifth century (Hanson 285). Therefore, even though the Roman Empire and Greece significantly influenced Christianity, the Christian church was able to implement their effective measures and principles. The Christian Church implemented effective principles and motives to strengthen the Christian faith and build moral principles and motivations for future development during the Middle Ages.
In conclusion, this paper explored the valuable aspects of the rise and development of Christianity during the Roman Empire period that contributed to Christianity’s success. By leveraging the western idea of piety through the prism of equality and freedom of thought, the Christian church was able to outlive the Roman Empire and succeed as a culture-maker of the Middle Ages. Several factors predicted Christianity’s further success, which the Christian church implemented from the Roman and Greek experiences. The factors included the introduction of piety and virtues, which were previously granted only o people with high social status.
To support the idea of piety and virtues, the church also established the concept of equality or the egalitarian principle. Both ideas supported the credibility of the Christian faith and promoted moral principles and motivators to the Christians. There were also many things that the Christian church did strategically differently that contributed to Christianity’s further success. The strategic implementation of the combination of important measures and principles allows Christianity to stay relevant in modern society. To provide a deeper analysis of how Christianity influenced society’s development, one should research the Christian church during the Middle Ages.
Works Cited
Boer, Harry R. A Short History of the Early Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.
Hanson, R. P. “The Reaction of the Church to the Collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the Fifth Century.” Vigiliae Christianae, vol. 26, no. 4, 1972, pp. 272–287.
Hoklotubbe, Christopher T. Civilized Piety: The Rhetoric of Pietas in the Pastoral Epistles and the Roman Empire. Baylor University Press, 2017.
Kamm, Antony, and Abigail Graham. The Romans: An Introduction. London: Routledge, 2020.
Lakoff, Sanford A. “Christianity and Equality.” Equality, edited by Roland J. Pennock and John W. Chapman, Routledge, 2017, pp. 115-133.
Martin, Thomas R. Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times. Yale University Press. 2013.
Ptaszek, Robert T. “Christianity: Friend or Foe of the Great Ideas?” The Great Ideas of Religion and Freedom, 2021, pp. 163–178.