Religious Influence at the End of Antiquity

EMPIRES OF FAITH HIST 1301 | History Religious Influence at the End of Antiquity One of the main characteristics of Late Antiquity was the emergence of new religious traditions, and state-sponsored religion played a crucial role in how empires interacted with one other and their own people. In Late Antiquity, a growing number of people began to identify as members of the religious community rather than as citizens of a certain region or even an empire. Christianity was a proselytising religion, in contrast to paganism, meaning that its adherents sought to win people over to their way of thinking. Christian intellectuals of the upper classes spread religious information to a broad audience and worked to create a unified story about what it meant to be a Christian. This painstaking endeavour included theological publications, ecumenical councils, and the interpretation of Christian rites. Persistent involvement in the definition of thought and practice was crucial to the expansion of Christianity throughout this time. The actions of Justinian and other Christian emperors, as well as the establishment of Zoroastrianism in the Sasanian Empire, demonstrate how closely the governance of the state also got entwined with religion and religious policy. Even though they had distinct religions, the Aksumites and Himyarites both incorporated religious iconography into their colossal structures and inscriptions. The broad public in Late Antique villages frequently maintained their religious diversity, but the elites of each empire supported this type of religious preaching and converted to the new faith in large numbers. After the Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in the first century CE, Judaism lost its distinct geographic centre. The dispersal of believers from the ancient Jewish homeland of Israel/Palestine that followed caused Jewish groups around the Mediterranean to experience a feeling of dislocation and the urge to establish a community is known as the Jewish diaspora. Even if their specific customs may have varied, people practicing faith in places as different as southern Arabia and Spain could generally agree on the fundamentals of their religion. Byzantine emperors imposed stringent rules and Christian theologians' views towards Jews became more negative in late antiquity. Nevertheless, Jewish culture thrived in spite of these conflicts, particularly in Palestine, where it led to the creation of several new synagogues and artwork. During this time, Christians demonstrated their devotion in a variety of ways. One was asceticism, a type of self-denial that entails giving up sensual pleasures and committing to a life of virginity, chastity, and disengagement from mainstream culture. Throughout the empire, there were monasteries housing communities committed to the austere life; they were typically found in isolated areas, frequently in deserts. However, in spite of their seclusion, many welcomed guests in order for Christians worldwide to become aware of the reputation of various holy figures. Many ascetics were influential members of their communities, often going above and beyond what was considered polite conduct. For instance, in an attempt to maintain a kind of "pure" Christianity, austere monks in Late Antiquity unleashed a wave of violence against unbelievers in imperial towns. Regional variations among religious factions continued during this period, despite ongoing efforts to establish correct Christian orthodoxy. For instance, a significant gap emerged between rural and urban devotion. Among the so-called Desert Fathers, Saint Anthony is arguably the most well-known. He made the decision to live in the Egyptian desert as a hermit and give up his belongings in the third century. Because of the disciples these ascetics drew, hermitages and monasteries grew prosperous in inhospitable regions. Hermitages were places of even greater solitude for the spiritually pious, whereas monasteries, like Kellia in the Egyptian desert, hosted a community of monks who lived together but had some contact with the surrounding area. On the other hand, churches and synagogues were found in frequently populated cities, where laypeople often attended services. However, these places of worship had to contend with other demands on people's time. Evidence points to the persistence of aspects of religious devotion, such as home shrines, magical spells, and other private activities, that date back to the polytheistic context of earlier ages. Larger-scale regional divides gave rise to various forms of devotion. Because of its relative isolation from the rest of the Christian world, Aksum in Ethiopia adopted a distinctive form of Christianity. People of the same faith may have different experiences with the same religion in the Mediterranean as well. For instance, Nestorian Christianity, which asserted that Jesus lived as both a human and a divine being, first appeared in the fifth-century disputes around Christ's divinity. Through the efforts of missionaries, Nestorius's beliefs prospered in Persia and extended eastward, despite being officially condemned by the church at the ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451.