Section 11.2

Religious Tolerance and ConflictThe Romans did not insist on imposing their

beliefs on others. Roman would often adopt the gods of other

cultures they conquered. In order to avoid offending any god, the

Romans prayed to a wide variety of gods and goddesses.

The Romans would only ban a religion when they thought that it would become a political problem.

Clashes with the JewsClashes with Judaism- Since the Jews refused

to worship any god but their own, some Romans thought the Jews insulted Rome’s gods by not praying to them.

The Jews caused trouble by rebelling against Roman rule. The Jews were never successful.

Emperor Hadrian banned Judaism from being practiced in the Empire. Jews revolted, lost, and were forced out of Rome.

A New ReligionChristianity- The religion based on the life and

teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus was considered to be the Messiah or

“God’s Annointed One” by the Christians.Jesus lived at the beginning of the first

century AD.His birth marks the shift from BC to AD. By the age of 30 Jesus had started to travel

and teach about religion.

Jesus of NazarethThe stories of his actions are written in the

New Testament in the Christian bible.Jesus’ teaching challenged the authority of

political and religious leaders.According to the Bible, Jesus was arrested

around the year AD 30.Shortly after his arrest, Jesus was executed by

crucifixion. It is the type of execution which a person was nailed to a cross.

ResurrectionAccording to Christian beliefs, Jesus rose from

the dead three days after he was crucified. This rise from the dead is known as the Resurrection in Christianity.

After the Resurrection, Jesus’ Apostles traveled widely telling about Jesus and his teachings.

At first Christianity was spread only among Jews.

MessiahEarly Christians believe that the

Resurrection was a sign that Jesus was the son of God.

Some people began to call him Jesus Christ, from the Greek word for Messiah, christos

It is from this word that the words Christian and Christianity later developed.

ChristianityWithin a hundred years of Jesus’ death, there

were thousands of Christians in the Roman Empire.

Christianity became a problem and was persecuted until Emperor Constantine became Christian himself.

A later Emperor declared Christianity Rome’s official religion.