The Christianization of the Roman Empire: From Jesus to Constantine

Abstract

The Christians started out as a marginalized Jewish sect and grew to be the dominant religion in the Roman empire in a relatively short time. From there, Christianity came to shape the societies and cultures in both Europe and the Americas, making the Christianization of the Roman Empire one of the most pivotal moments in world history. Historians have tried to explain the rise of Christianity since Eusebius wrote his Church History. In 1996 the sociologist Rodney Stark published his book The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History in which he tried to explain the Christian success using theories from sociology. This thesis will look into the validity of using these sociological theories on the Graeco-Roman world, Stark’s use of estimates and growth rates to illustrate Christianity’s rise and his belief that Christianity was the beneficiary of the two great plagues that struck the Graeco-Roman world in the second and third centuries AD. In addition, it will be made an attempt to offer alternative estimates for the number of Christians in the Graeco-Roman world.