Lecture 13: Imperial Politics and Religion

Imperial Politics and Religion

Lecture 13

I

n the first part of the course, we saw how Christianity, beginning as an

inauspicious sect of Judaism, grew—despite hostility and persecution—

into a significant player in the larger world, with strong internal

organization, an empire-wide system of communication, and an increasing

confidence in both its moral and intellectual superiority. We now take a major

turn in the course, just as Christianity took a major turn in the 4th century.

From this point forward, it will be difficult to disentangle Christianity as a

religious phenomenon from its role in the political order. In this lecture, we

will see how the persecuted Christian cult became the established religion of

the Roman Empire.

The Transition of Christianity

•    The transition of Christianity from a persecuted cult to an

established religion is represented by the emperor under whom

the last great persecution was carried out, Diocletian (284–305),

and the emperor under whom toleration and much more occurred,

Constantine I (306–337). But history is not merely a matter of great

men, however important; beneath their actions, powerful social

forces were at work.

•    The Roman Empire’s transition from pagan to Christian was

more gradual—and more complex—than is sometimes thought.

We have seen how Christianity grew in numbers, organization,

and intellectual self-confidence in the preceding centuries. The

consequences of Constantine’s decision to establish Christianity as

the imperial religion were, however, for both empire and church,

undoubtedly decisive. Nothing was ever again the same for either.

o The empire, which had already left behind its republican roots

with the first Caesars and become increasingly autocratic,

found itself patron of a religion with subversion in its genes. It

is not clear whether the emperors had any idea how resistant to

imperial rule Christianity could be.