Because those of us in the Western world are used to hearing stories about Christians being fed to the lions, perhaps we can't imagine that the Romans allowed freedom of religion. But they did. And for the ancient world, their policies were actually quite tolerant.
The Romans didn't insist that anyone sacrifice to or worship any particular god or goddess, other than the current emperor. No one was required to go to "services," as such, although nearly everyone participated in festivals and public events associated with various divinities throughout the year--I mean, a holiday's a holiday, right? Whenever Romans conquered a region, they were normally very respectful of the way native peoples worshipped. Not only did they freely allow conquered subjects to worship in any way they wished, the Romans often imported foreign gods back to their homeland and incorporated them into their own divine pantheon as beloved divinities in their own right. Romans especially revered Greek culture, including the famous Eleusinian Mysteries of the goddess Demeter, which became a must-see-and-do experience for every aristocratic Roman and imperial leader, regardless of core belief.
Another example is worship of the Egyptian goddess Isis, which had quite a following in pre-Christian Rome. The Celtic goddess Epona, protector of horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, and fertility, enjoyed a run of popularity. And right up until the Christian conversion of Constantine, many in the Roman military were extremely devoted to Mithras, a mystery religion involving the Persian god of the sun, war, loyalty, and contracts. As long as conquered peoples paid their due to the current Roman emperor as a god, the Roman state was usually fine with the rest.
There were, however, some exceptions.
Jews
Pre-Christian Romans simply did not understand the concept of monotheism, but because Palestine's location vis-à-vis the Persian Empire was valuable to them, they tried to work with the Jews...for a while. In fact, as implacable Romans, it could be said that they gave considerable latitude to the Jews to worship as they wished. All they asked was that the Jews sacrifice to the current Caesar and pay the Jewish tax. The rest they were willing to ignore. Nevertheless, these actions were offensive to Jews and not something they could do. In the end it proved a bridge too far. In AD 66, after years of feuding and tension between the Romans and the Jewish populace, the Jewish people rose up and rebelled against the Romans. The rebellion went on for some time. Finally in AD 70, only a few years after the holy Jewish Second Temple was finally completed in Jerusalem after centuries of work, the Roman army under the emperor Titus destroyed the temple and most of Jerusalem in a vengeful and severely corrective measure (see Part 1 of this series, "Persistence"), carting all the temple's magnificent treasures back to Rome. This horrific event sparked the beginning of the dispersal of the Jewish population around the globe. To this day, the temple has never been rebuilt.
Druids
Cruel though the Romans may have been cruel by modern standards, one thing they drew the line at was human sacrifice. On that basis, they outlawed Druidism, especially in Britannia (Britain). Druidism was practiced by Celts prior to the coming of the Romans. Although some historians and religious scholars (as well as modern Druids) maintain that the issue of human sacrifice was a Roman fiction, there does seem to be evidence that it took place among Iron Age Celts. Druidism was ultimately forced into the shadows, first by Roman occupation and later by the ascent of Christianity.
Christians
Romans had plenty of objections to Christianity. To begin with, they felt Christians were atheists because Christians didn't believe in or worship the gods. Romans prided themselves on being a religious society and were baffled and offended by this apparent lack of devotion. They also saw Christian beliefs as superstitious, secretive, and suspect. It was unthinkable to them that Christians would worship a criminal who was executed for his supposed bad deeds. Like the Jews before them, Christians refused to sacrifice to Caesar or acknowledge him as a god. Most of all, the Romans felt Christianity contributed to social unrest, since fights often broke out between pagans and Christians. And because they were all about preserving civil order, they concluded Christianity was simply too troublesome to tolerate.
Ironically in the West, as we now know, Christianity proved to be a far more powerful and lasting conqueror than the Roman Empire ever did. But then, history is full of ironies.
Illustrations
Top: The Egyptian goddess Isis from a painted fabric linen shroud, 2nd-1st century BC.
Middle: The Celtic goddess Epona. Bas-relief from Contern (located in modern Luxemburg), 2nd-3rd century AD.
Bottom: Roman goddess Minerva, considered equivalent to the Greek goddess Athena; fresco from the Hall of the Augustals, Herculaneum, Italy.
All images copyright free via Wikimedia Commons
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