If the Roman Empire didn't convert to Christianity?

What do you envision might be the world today if the Roman Empire did not convert to Christianity and instead "destroyed" Christianity completely? Do you think the Roman Empire would have eventually converted to some other monotheistic religion or stayed with their polytheistic beliefs?

Thanks.




[edit on 21-8-2010 by sphinx551]

reply to post by sphinx551

The way Roman society was going in those days, they were going to convert to a "faith" religion of some type. The "old" official religion was less and less of a living force.
If not Christianity, then, perhaps, Mithraism.

woah, hold on...
the roman empire didn't convert to jack...they are the same as they have always been

The only thing that has changed is the names of the deitys and lesser deities.
apollo became jesus, Jupiter became the father, Cronos became St. John Nepomucene, etc.
Catholics (vatican) has tons of saints to pray to for this or that, tons of named demons for this sin and that sin, etc...

So...if they didn't convert to christianity...it would be pretty much the same as it is now, but with the older named gods and demigods.

I miss dionysis

When the police came by we would be beating our fists on our chests. And saying things like "Hail Centurion!"

Late antiquity (roughly, say, the years 200-500) was a simmering cauldron of religion and esoterica. There were dozens of little cults, movements, and philosophies flooding the Roman Empire from all over. Rome had gotten big and come into contact with many civilizations, large and small. The trading city of Alexandria with its famous library was a centerpiece of this.

All of the following were popular in the late roman empire. All of them are interesting religions/ideas and worth googling if you want to know more:
-The Cult of Isis
-Mithraism
-Christianity (including dozens of Gnostic variations)
-Manicheanism
-Gymnosophists
-The Cult of Magna Mater
-The various "mystery religions" (Eleusinian Mysteries, Dyonesian Mysteries, etc. etc.)
-Hermeticism

...and probably more. Ideas were flooding in from the four corners of the world and people dabbled in them much like today's "new agers" or members of hundreds of different faiths one can encounter on the Internet.

It must have been a fascinating time.

Mithraism, in particular, has been put forth as a possible alternative to Christianity. It was particularly popular in the Roman Imperial Army. Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity, also seriously considered Mithraism. If he had gone that route, Western Europe might have had a very different cultural vocabulary or outlook...

Originally posted by SaturnFX
woah, hold on...
the roman empire didn't convert to jack...they are the same as they have always been

The only thing that has changed is the names of the deitys and lesser deities.
apollo became jesus, Jupiter became the father, Cronos became St. John Nepomucene, etc.
Catholics (vatican) has tons of saints to pray to for this or that, tons of named demons for this sin and that sin, etc...

So...if they didn't convert to christianity...it would be pretty much the same as it is now, but with the older named gods and demigods.

I miss dionysis

I'm with you on this one SaturnX , I think this should be in the breaking news section .I have searched the media and got nothing .OP have you got a link to the conversion of Catholocism to Christianity ? This is BIG !
No I'm only teasing OP .I understand what you are getting at .But the Catholic Church is Babylonian through and through from the Maltese Cross to the popes funny little fish priest hat .