RELIGION AND BELIEF SYSTEM
Jupiter, The King of the Gods
A main part of culture in a city or country is religion. For the Romans, they worshiped the Roman gods. They worshiped thousands of gods for hundreds of years. Trees, rocks, bridges, streams, everything in Ancient Rome had a spirit or god looking after it. Many gods had very important jobs for the Romans, such as watching over the crops, or making the sun come out. But that didn’t make any other gods less than each other, they were all
important to the Romans. They worshiped their gods at the least, once a day. But as the Roman Empire grew, they would meet others from different places who worshiped different
religion. They would make those people with other beliefs fight, and if they fought very well, they came to the conclusion that their god was good. They then would adopt that god into the Roman religion. They gave the adopted gods Roman names, and would adjust their personality traits to fit the Roman life. It was a law that everyone would have to worship the Roman gods. I’m still surprised they worshiped thousands of gods. How long would it take you to pray?
Christianity was born in the Roman Empire, although it was originally illegal to have a different belief system in Ancient Rome, people still converted. They knew it was against the law, so they would meet in secret, and if caught, they would be arrested and treated like criminals, often killed. Many people would still convert because of the benefits of being Christian. Christianity promised that if you lived your life right, you would go to heaven. This interested many, as they thought they were already living their best life, why not make it better? In the Roman religion, only the Roman gods were allowed in heaven. All others would be immediately transferred to the underworld after death. And another reason many converted, was that Christians treated themselves as equals. There was no one above each other, and no one below each other. This was a huge thing for those who were poor in Ancient Rome, they wanted to be treated equally for who they were. Many believed it was worth the risk. Eventually, a Roman emperor would convert to Christianity, and would continue to make Christianity legal. Shortly after it was made legal, Christianity was made the main religion of Rome, and in many countries and cities, it still is today.
