Christianity as a Unifying Influence in the History of Europe

The Pax Romana allowed Rome to expand, and created a period of peace that would spread the important religion of Christianity throughout the strong empire. The new religion of Christianity was Jesus’ interpertation of monotheistic religion, Judiasm. Christianity was unlike the polytheistic Roman religion which infuriated many Roman rulers. Despite the hatred of rulers it spread quickly throughout the empire and continued even after Jesus died. Although Christianity followers were persecuted they felt strongly about their beliefs and eventually the Edict of Milan was passed whih meant that Christianity was a religion approved by the emperor. Christianity changed from a sect of persecution to a state religion within the Roman Empire because

The population of Rome was mainly made up of peasants and farmers so when they learned that Jesus was like them it gave them hope of achieving eternal life. Christianity accepts people of all social classes so it spread quickly throughout Rome due to the lower class’s large population. When Constantine embraced Christianity and stopped the persecution of Christians the religion spread like wild fire because Christians could spread God’s word, like Paul, without being

The positive influence of Christianity is far reaching especially in the rich history and culture of Western Civilization despite a long standing ignorance or adamant denial of its contributions. The Bible itself is responsible for much of the language, literature, and fine arts we enjoy today as its artists and composers were heavily influenced by its writings. Paul Maier, in writing the forward to the book How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt, says this about the profound impact Christianity has had on the development of Western Civilization:

Not only did the Christian Church hold importance but it also held authority. Document 11 describes the power of the Catholic Inquisition. In attempting to try a man for heresy, they killed him by means of torture. Not only did they have the judging authority, but they could kill men without consequence. The greatest minds of Western Europe were captivated by Christianity as well. Document 13 describes Thomas Aquinas, one of the best thinkers of the Christian postclassical world, in his use of science to try to determine the right and Christian relationship between men and women. In every aspect of Western Europe, Christianity was a defining characteristic.

The single most important aspect of European empires, beginning just prior to the fall of Rome, is the spread of Christianity to all areas of the continent in as little as a few hundred years. Many theologians state that Christianities spread is the indirect influence of God and the adoration of people to one true faith. Though it is true that Christianity has brought about people that even atheists could call saints, it is unquestionable that Christianity was so monumental because it united larger groups of people and its spread is contributed to adherence to local customs and its lack of new ideas in comparison to other religions of the day.

Western Europe went through a lot changes through the 8th and 14th century it was the rise of the medieval culture.The Church started to gain power as Christianity started to gain popularity throughout all over Western Europe. Christianity had a lot of influence on the development of Romanesque and Gothic culture, as they took a lot of the ideas from Christianity and implemented it into theirs. As Western Europe went through all these different events the religious and political aspects started to change as well. The Church started to gain a lot of power as death was spreading all over Europe, people started to worry where their soul would go after their death. In the beginning of medieval Europe the aristocrats had a lot of the power while

In the middle ages, Christianity was at the heart of politics and thus acceptance of the Christian faith was indeed a political matter in many respects. For many political leaders in the early period, acceptance of the Christian faith was used as a means to shape political image, as was clearly shown most famously by Clovis I. Further, acceptance of Christianity was also political in that it created ties with Rome which helped set the precedent of an incredibly influential papacy throughout the medieval period. It also notable that the conversion of ‘barbarian nations’ such as Denmark, signified cultural development and advancement for many people in Europe at the time and helped form the early form of a unified Europe by the early Middle Ages.

Several factors contributing to the rapid spread of Christianity from the period ca. 50 to 500 CE but, among the more influential were political and social conflict, missionary work, word of mouth, and women in leadership. Starting as a Jewish sect, Christianity gradually began to attract those outside of the Jewish heritage. Though the first few centuries of this movement were anything but glamorous, both Jewish and Gentile Christians remained steadfast. The ecclesiastical works of the early Church Fathers offer solace to such who were continually persecuted, a people of lower society status or even slaves. During this era, the dissimilation of subversive ministries advanced the appeal of Christianity by challenging previously established social order and its structures of power, authority, and hierarchy. By late 300 CE, Christianity had revolutionized and was adopted as the universal religion of the Roman Empire as a result of the conversion of its emperor. Thus the strength behind Christian communities lead to the discovery and conversion of indigenous cultures around the world using force, wealth, missionary work, and the gospel.

The roman people wanted nothing more than to kill of Christianity for good but yet it was growing faster than any other religion in the whole Empire. The Romans could not understand why Christianity was growing so fast and it began to aggravate them to no end. Christianity grew rapidly because people were drawn to the message of Jesus Christ. The message of Jesus Christ was a life changing message and that other religions could not provide.

The twentieth century was a time of great flux and anxiety in Europe as the supremacy of Christianity in Europe was being challenged by the fronts of biblical criticism, and evolution. According to Rev, Andrew Greeley, a social sciences professor at the University of Chicago, belief in God has increased in Russia and Hungary and decreased in Britain, the Netherlands, western Germany and France. Atheism thrives in eastern Germany, Russia, The Czech Republic and France. Interestingly though, most European countries report denominational affiliation.

In 312 CE, Roman Emperor Constantine achieved a victory at the Milvian Bridge. The night previous to this battle, Constantine dreamt of a cross inscribed in hoc signo vinces, in this sign you will conquer. As trivial as this dream may seem, it ultimately signified the beginning of the rise of Christianity. With his victory, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and supported and encouraged it throughout the empire. In 313 CE, another milestone occurred as the emperors, both Constantine I of the West and Licinius of the East, signed the Edict of Milan declaring that the Diocletianic Persecution would end, and Christianity would be tolerated in the Roman Empire. This religion began to flourish as people quickly converted from pagan

It was this refusal that caused its practice to be illegal and those who chose to stick with the faith were prosecuted. Although people were being killed for practicing, Christianity started to become even more popular. After seeing Christian martyrs risk their lives for the sake of Christianity, many Romans were compelled and attracted to the faith. Also, there were Apostles who traveled around the empire spreading the message of Christianity. Then in 312 CE, Emperor Constantine proposed the Edict of Milan that banned all laws against Christianity. That allowed people to freely worship, without the fear of harsh punishment. He eventually converted on his deathbed. Then in 392 CE, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of Rome. Christianity went from being an illegal religion to the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Origin of Lent relates to the old testament's Passover. However, nowadays, since we forget the importance of concept in Christianity, we do not teach our children about it. So it become meaningless and senseless in our lives. One Biblical scholar says, the two reasons of Europe's collapse of Christianity are: first, a result of lack of understanding of grace from freedom, which gives a power in God's words to defeat the world. Second, a result of not spreading the right words of truth to children.

Christianity and the Roman Empire shared an important bond. Christianity offered the Roman Empire joy, hope, a shift in their world view, and a monotheistic God. Rome offered Christianity a more efficient way of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

There was one main religion in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. This religion was Roman Catholic Christianity. It was both unifying and separating in some ways. Unlike now, religion served various functions, and was the main cultural aspect in people's lives. The Christian patriarch was more powerful than European kings, and wealthier.