From Polytheism to Christianity

From 600BCE- 600CE, the diffusion of belief systems went through major changes in the Mediterranean world from polytheism to Christianity. Although these religious beliefs all continue the idea of a divine power, they are very different in that polytheism believed in multiple gods, while Judaism and Christianity were monotheistic religions. These religions continued to spread, and attract converters across the world over time, but the speed in which it did so began to slow down as the religions shifted from Polytheism to Monotheism. To better understand how the diffusion of the belief systems was altered in the Mediterranean, one must first look at what the Mediterranean was like before the change in beliefs occurred.

In the Beginning of the Mediterranean world (from the development of this region to the development of Judaism), which consists of Greece and Rome, polytheism was a popular belief shared by most of the people living in this region. Polytheistic people believed in gods based on human characteristics. In Greece they believed in Zeus and scores of subordinate, supernatural powers personified to explain natural elements. They believed it because they wanted a way to explain personalities and natural phenomenon. Romans also believed in multiple gods, who intervened in human affairs. For example, Jupiter the lord of heavens, Mars god of war, Ceres the goddess of grain, Janus the god who watched house, and Vesta the god of hearth, were all worshiped by Romans along with household gods. One change that occurred was, in Greece, these gods began to influence the practice of religious cults because people were usually in need of something or wanted something and they thought that if they worshiped that god he or she would bless them. These cults were usually a result of Greek myths. The cult of Dionysius, for example, was a cult devoted to Dionysius (Bracchus) the god of wine. It was mostly practiced by women through celebrations. In another change that occurred was from cults to cults salvation such as Mystery Religions. Mystery Religions promised eternal bliss for believers through life after death thanks to resurrection of a savior. Cult of Osiris, is an example of a Mystery Religion. Rome also had religions of salvation. These people followed these religions because they gave a sense of purpose and promised afterlife. The cult of Isis, dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis, who supposedly helped people to cope with the stress of Cosmopolitan society. Polytheism was popular among many civilizations including, but not limited to the Mediterranean world. It was so popular because the Romans used to punish people who did not worship multiple gods because they felt that that would anger the other gods. Polytheism was so influential because many of these cults based on polytheism were religions of salvation, which influenced Judaism.

During the shift in religion, Polytheism caused a group to break off into their own religion of Judaism. These Jews changed into a group that was monotheistic and believed polytheism to be blasphemy because they believed that there was only one god and worship of any other is a sin that would lead to damnation. As a result, Jews sometimes refused to cater to a mortal who laid claim to divinity and refused to pay taxes to regimes that required subjects to reverse their emperors. Jews relationship with imperial authorities grew tense when Romans extended their empire to eastern Mediterranean. This was because Romans did not want Jews to neglect worshiping the multiple gods. Continuity that remained throughout both Polytheism and Judaism is that both believed in a divine power. Judaism is, to this day, a popular religion that is practiced throughout the entire world. Cults of salvation and Mystery religions, along with Judaism, believed that their sins would be forgiven and they would be delivered from subjection through the death and resurrection of a Messiah. With this idea came Jesus of Nazareth.

Though it has been broken up into to smaller sects, Christianity was the direct change from Judaism. Christianity is based on the belief that Jesus of Nazareth was the messiah that was crucified and then resurrected for the sins of his people. Romans crucified Jesus because they did not agree with fact that he wanted people to worship him and no other god. Romans would have been fine with worshiping him as a god if they were free to worship others too. Christianity had a strong appeal to lower classes urban population and women. It became one of the most influential faiths in the Mediterranean because it became a widely practiced religion and also cause other religions to think about their religion and also give them some form of identity. One reason the teaching of Jesus spread was because Paul of tarsus, a Jew from Anatolia who preached his faith, was a principle figure in spread Christianity beyond Judaism. His teachings, as read in his bible, influenced people to observe high moral standards and to place their faith ahead of personal and family interest. Christianity was so influential also because it had been broken into other religions such as Baptist, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity. Christianity like Judaism believed that messiah would direct them into the path of righteousness, but Judaism believes that their messiah hasn’t come yet, and Christianity recognizes Jesus as that figure.

The diffusion of Polytheism, Judaism, and Christianity varied. Though the diffusion of Christianity was very rapid, it was not as practiced as polytheism. This is because in the being of the Mediterranean world almost all of the civilizations were polytheistic and those civilizations developed religions like Buddhism, Hinduism and others in addition to Judaism and Christianity. A main idea that stayed the same was the fact that these religions have one, if not more, religious figures. Polytheism, specifically religious cults of salvation, influenced the monotheistic Judaism, which then influenced Christianity which later created smaller religions of its own.