Religious Tolerance In The Roman World

Question 1

The Rise of Foreign religion in Rome

Answer 1

• The romans came into contact with many different peoples and religions as the empire expanded.
• Their general approach was to respect and tolerate other religions, often equating their gods with Roman ones (syncretism), for example in Britain they associated the goddess Sulis with Minerva
• However, some religions were attacked and persecuted
• This normally happened because aspects of their beliefs or rituals seemed abhorrent in Roman eyes or because followers of the religion were seen to be socially or politically disruptive.

Question 2

The Rise of Foreign religion in Rome - General Summary

Answer 2

• Romans tended to be tolerant of religions provided they posed no threat to the empire
• Romans recognised that the attempt to suppress native religions could cause unrest, as it did in Britain with the repression of Druidism
• policy could change due to attitude of individual emperors or public opinion
• romans expected at least outward show of worship to their own gods
• Romans saw little problem with individuals following more than one faith

Question 3

The Rise of Foreign religion in Rome - fusion (Interpretatio Romana)

Answer 3

• Romans often sought to ‘fuse’ their gods with the gods of the peoples the conquered. This policy was called ‘interpretatio Romana’
• Most famous examples of fusion are with Greek gods, but there are also examples in Egypt (eg Jupiter Amun)
• In Britain, Romans fused their god of war with Celtic god to produce ‘Mars Braciaca’

Question 4

Roman Tolerance - Judaism

Answer 4

• Jews had settles in Rome from an early period and the Romans respected their religion as it had a long history and tradition and involved no practises which they found offensive.
• As long as they caused no trouble and did not try to convert others to their religion, they were allowed to worship in their own way and to transmit the annual Temple Tax (a contribution made by Jewish men for the upkeep of the Temple) to Jerusalem

Question 5

Roman Tolerance - Judaism

Answer 5

• There was some anti-semitism in the wider community and Jews were often regarded as credulous and superstitious
• by not engaging in state worship, they set themselves apart from the rest of society
• they would, however, pray for the safety of the emperor and state

Question 6

Roman Tolerance - Judaism (The Romans in Judea)

Answer 6

• In Judea itself, Roman officials could sometimes be tactless and cause offence to Jews
• The emperor Caligula himself caused a disturbance in Jerusalem by attempting to have his own image placed in the Temple there
• When a revolt did finally break out in 66AD, it was put down by the future emperor Vespasian and his son, Titus.
• Although the Temple was destroyed, the tax still had to be paid, but now it was sent to Jupiter Capitolinus at Rome
• Women and children had to pay the tax too

Question 7

Roman Tolerance - Judaism (Roman-Jewish timeline) Relationship initially peaceful

Answer 7

At first the relationship between the Romans and the Jews was peaceful.
- At first Augustus tolerated Judaism as an established religion of the empire, similar to the religions of the Greeks and Egyptians
- Augustus ordered that the Jews were to be left to worship in peace, and the Torah was not to be confiscated

Question 8

Roman Tolerance - Judaism (Roman-Jewish timeline) Suspicion

Answer 8

Gradually, Judaism was viewed on with suspicion.
- Hard-line Jews (the Zealots) became increasingly influential by middle of first century AD
- Zealots refused to pay taxes, or say prayers to Roman gods

Question 9

Roman Tolerance - Judaism (Roman-Jewish timeline) Romans became violent

Answer 9

The Romans started to assert authority over the Jews and relations deteriorated and became violent:
- Romans ordered sacrifices to Roman gods within synagogues, alienating Jews
- Alienation culminated in the great rebellion of 66-71AD, which caused great bloodshed
- The Romans, led by the future emperors Vespasian and Titus, brutally put down the rebellion, destroying the temple in Jerusalem and scattering the Jewish population

Question 10

Roman Tolerance - Christianity

Answer 10

• By the middle of the 1st century AD there were Christians settled in Rome, although to begin with many Romans found it difficult to distinguish between them and Jews
• Christianity had many of the attractive features of a mystery cult, however, the Romans found difficulties with the Christians.

Question 11

Roman Tolerance - Christianity (Romans thoughts about Christianity)

Answer 11

Roman thoughts about Christianity:
- They met in private; what were they up to? Conspiracy?
- They ate bread and drank wine saying they were the body and blood of Christ; cannibalistic rituals?
- They spoke of God being love; sexual promiscuity?
- They called on another ‘brother’ and ‘sister’; was the use of these names enough to make their marriages incestuous?
- They would not take part in State religion; treasonable behaviour?
- They were even heretics from Judaism

Question 12

Roman Tolerance - Christianity (Blame on Christian’s for fire)

Answer 12

• When fire destroyed a large part of Rome in July 64 AD, the historian Tacitus says that the people blamed the emperor Nero and he in turn blamed the Christians, who were arrested and executed
• Tacitus makes it clear that it was easy to blame the Christians because they were “already hated for their evil practices”.

Question 13

Roman Tolerance - Christianity (Pliny and Tacitus)

Answer 13

• In the early 2nd century AD Pliny the Younger was governor of Bithynia, a province in Asia Minor
• Here he had to examine and try Christians, as he was unsure how to proceed, he wrote to the emperor Trajan for advice: Christians were not to be hunted down and any anonymous claims that a person was a Christian had to be ignored.
• If someone was brought before Pliny accused of Christianity, they had to be given the opportunity to repent and prove it by worshipping the Roman gods
• If they did not repent, they were to be executed

Question 14

Roman Tolerance - Christianity (Pliny and Tacitus)

Answer 14

• It is clear from what Tacitus and Pliny tell us, that there was a suspicion of and hostility towards the Christians; that being a Christian in itself was punishable by death, but it was not the policy of the state to actively hunt them down
• In this early period, active persecution was not on-going, but could happen as a reaction to an event like the great fire when scapegoats were required

Question 15

Roman Tolerance - Romans and Christians a closer look (Romans saw it as a superstition and a threat)

Answer 15

Romans saw Christianity as a ‘superstition’ which was a threat to the moral fabric of the empire.
- Christians’ monotheism (belief in one god), like that of the Jews, brought them into conflict with the Roman authorities, who regarded worship of the Roman gods as a sign of loyalty

Question 16

Roman Tolerance - Romans and Christians a closer look (Christians used as scapegoats)

Answer 16

• Roman emperors became hostile to Judaism in the middle of the first century, and Christians suffered partly as a result of ‘guilt by association’
• The Roman historian Tacitus claims that Nero, in order to remove suspicion from himself, blamed, tortured and executed Christians for causing the fire of Rome in 64 AD

Question 17

Roman Tolerance - Romans and Christians a closer look (Many Romans saw the appeal in Christianity)

Answer 17

Many Romans saw the appeal in Christianity.
- They liked the idea of love and friendship
- Fellowship for all, free or slave, man or woman
- Strong sense of moral code

Question 18

Roman Tolerance - Sources on the Romans and the Christians

Answer 18

Pliny, Letters 10.96-97 - ‘I have never participated in trials of Christians. I therefore do not know what offences it is the practise to punish or investigate and to what extent.’

Emperor Trajan to Pliny - ‘They are not to be sought out;if they are denounced to you as Christians’.

Question 19

Roman Tolerance -How tolerant were the Romans of the Christians?

Answer 19

• The reluctance of the Christians to integrate into Roman society roused suspicion and turned the Romans against them
• The secrecy and exclusivity of the Christian cult made Christians seem anti-social. They were suspected of plotting against the state and the fire of Rome seemed to provide evidence of this
• The rumours of cannibalism and incest rendered the Christians law breakers which was unacceptable to the Romans
• Christian exclusivity made it easy for Nero to make scapegoats of the Christians and satisfy the need of the Romans to find someone to blame for the tragedy of the fire
• Pliny’s appeal to Trajan and Trajans response of innocent until proven guilty and justified punishment suggest a more enlightened attitude to Christians

Question 20

Druidism

Answer 20

• The Druids were the priests of the Celtic tribes which the Romans encountered in their conquests of Gaul and Britain.
• They themselves wrote nothing, so our information about them and their religion comes from Greek and Roman writers.
• A great deal of this is unreliable and archaeology is of limited help in shedding light on the Druids or their religion.

Question 21

Caesar and the Druids

Answer 21

• Julius Caesar, who conquered Gaul and made two brief expeditions to Britain in the 1st century BC, says that the Druids controlled all matters concerned with religion, meeting annually at a sacred place in the territory of the Carnutes in central Gaul.
• They also acted as judges in all disputes.
• According to Caesar, it took up to twenty years of training before a Druid had learned all the oral traditions of his religion.

Question 22

Caesar and the Druids

Answer 22

• He and other classical writers say that Druids carried out human sacrifices as a form of divination, stabbing a victim and interpreting the will of the gods from his movements and the flow of blood.
• There are references in literature to altars covered in human blood.

Question 23

Druids in the early imperial period

Answer 23

• The emperors Tiberius and Claudius both tried to suppress the Druids in Gaul.
• Although Claudius launched the Roman invasion and initiated the permanent occupation of Britain in 43 AD, there is no evidence of an attempt to eliminate the Druids there.
• The historian Tacitus wrote about the conquest of Britain in the Annals and in the Agricola, the biography of his father-in-law, who was governor of Britain.
• He only mentions Druids once, when they were cursing Roman troops attacking the island of Anglesey in Wales. He also on that one occasion refers to altars covered in human blood.

Question 24

Druids in the early imperial period

Answer 24

• It is not clear why Tiberius and Claudius attacked the Druids in Gaul.
• Presumably it was one or both of the two normal reasons for Roman religious intolerance - objectionable religious practices or social or political interference and disruption.
• Certainly human sacrifice would count as the former and those seeking to rebel against Roman rule and the growth of Romanisation may well have found support in the priests of the old religion.

Question 25

How Tolerant were the romans of foreign religions?

Answer 25

• The Romans were generally accepting of foreign religions.
• The Romans believed that embracing foreign religions was far more sensible than asking people to change their beliefs.
• Romans often sought to “fuse” their gods with the gods of the peoples they conquered. This policy was called “interpretatio Romana”.
• We can clearly see this with the combination of the Greek and Roman gods.

Question 26

How Tolerant were the romans of foreign religions?

Answer 26

• Religious policy could change due to attitude of individual emperors or public opinion.
• The emperor Constantine, as a dying man, changed the state religion of Rome from Paganism to Christianity.
• The emperor Augustus wanted Roman religion to return to its traditional value of the past, and so led a huge propaganda programme in order to do so.
• The emperors Tiberius and Claudius launched attacks against Gaul.
• The emperor Trajan wanted Pliny to try and maintain peace with the Christians.

Question 27

How Tolerant were the romans of foreign religions?

Answer 27

• Romans expected at least outward show of worship to their own gods. They saw little problem with individual following more than one faith.
• The Romans expected foreigners and people under Roman authority to show some respect towards their gods. This often meant combining worship.
• The Romans also had few issues with individuals following different beliefs, provided this did not pose as a threat to the traditional beliefs or the state/running of the empire.