why did Christianity replace paganism?

Answer 1

Erich Fromm wrote in "The Art of Loving" about that.

Basically, it has to do with the maturity of the "question" which is manifestated through religion.

In its undisturbed evolutional form, religion undergoes from God Nature (Shamanism) to God We All. Christianity is God Father. Comparingly, humans mature from the first perception of the world (God Nature), through unconditional and conditional love (God Mother and God Father (in the context of the reply more fathers as well :) ), into becoming independent individuals capable of giving mature love (God I and God We)...

It does not replace, but evolves into, if undisturbed by outer influences. In some areas Christianity did replace paganism, like with the South Slavic tribes which were allowed to keep their pagan gods, today in form of saints.

Answer 2

Well, it never really replaced it completely. There are a number of Pagans still today. There are, however, many reasons why it became as dominant as it is.

The Roman military was essentially required to convert to Christianity. As they spread around the known world, they introduced the religion to remote areas. As the world became more Roman, it became more Christian.

The Byzantine tax structure was set up so that only non-Christians had to pay taxes. It was financially beneficial to convert in the Byzantine world.

There have been various historical and present-day incidents in which people have been forced or strongly pushed to convert. Indian boarding schools were set up in the U.S. to forcefully convert the native population, the NLFT in India kills Hindus in their Christian community, and recently there have been tsunami relief agencies that have denied aid to those who would not convert.

Another reason, of course, was the printing press. Go to just about any country in the world today and you will likely be able to get your hands on a Bible, as well as other Christian literature. Even if the country is not predominantly Christian. Through missionary work and the sheer fact that the book has been in publication so long, it is simply out there. Many Pagan texts are not widely distributed.

Answer 3

When Judeo-Christians attempted to convert pagans from their traditional beliefs, the native people of Europe were initially resistant to discarding the beliefs and values that had guided them successfully for thousands of years. Realizing that it was difficult to get people to give up their relation to nature and the recollection of their past, the Judeo-Christian conversion effort adopted and modified the pagan traditions, while replacing cyclical nature with an invisible, inert god and a personal, linear human idol to worship as its representation.

The chosen people of the Judeo-Christian God did not like the worship of nature and knew this would be harmful to the successful propagation of their beliefs.


So he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.
- Ezekiel 8:16
Thus says the Lord: "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles."
- Jeremiah 10:2

In some translations the word "Gentiles" is replaced by "Heathens", but the two words have the same meaning

Answer 4

you spot, each physique assumes that Christianity took over via tension. It wasn't purely tension. The question is why did it replace paganism? you are able to tension human beings to do rather much something you like with a sword, a gun, or what have you ever, yet you are able to no longer replace an theory without yet another theory. Christianity performed on the fears and superstitions of the wealthy and useful. It gave the adult men, enormously the clergy, greater means over the folk. It placed worry interior the folk who have been working in the direction of, no count number if worry of death for no longer being christian or worry of Hell and devil. The Pagan religions of the day placed the means interior the womans arms and the adult men feared that loss of administration. Christianity has thrived on worry, it created worry and conquered through fact those early leaders used worry to grow to be further and extra useful. The early Christian leaders did no longer placed on a teach, they have been useful sages who would desire to manage and administration the plenty. The Pagans are people who began the conflict, via the way. And while the emperor of Rome observed that he grow to be dropping the conflict to the Christians, he did what each useful guy does, he transformations facets, marries a Christian queen and activates his own human beings. of path, the Roman Emperor (Constatine?) included Pagan holidays and rituals to soothe the plenty and make christianity greater suited to them. people who nevertheless refused, of path, have been placed to death. And if everyone hasn't yet observed, Christianity has been replaced. the hot faith is Democracy.

Answer 5

Christians believe in Trinity Theology. In most Christian faiths, the union of three divine persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in one God.

Pagans the worship of idols or false gods.

See pagan's and christianity's key faith looks similar, union of 3 persons in one God, and worship of Idols. Both are made by human hands.

Please notify if i am wrong, because this what there own ditioniaries are saying, not my words.

So argument on logical ground is not quite right, christianity never replace the idol-ship, but it is an extension in a limited form, e.g. Hindu-ism has too many idol gods & goddesses and in christianity there are 3 in 1, one is God and 3 are persons, all are god to which they worship.

Answer 6

Hellenistic philosophy and the Mystery Religions did all the hard work. By the time Christianity came along, polytheistic 'orthodoxy' had already fallen into disfavor among Greco-Roman intellectuals, and Christianity offered a fresh alternative that incoporated the philosophical speculations, initiations, moral virtues, secrecy, and progressive revelation of the Mysteries. Its symbolism offered a more complete canon than any other Mystery cult, and it had the added bonus of Semitic elements (which, to the Greeks, was like Hinuism to the hippies, or Egyptian mummies to the Victorians).

In short, Christianity had everything that the well-to-do city-dwelling Hellenistic intellectual was looking for in a religion. The only opposition came from the so-called 'pagans,' who were (believe it or not) fundamentalists about the Olympian Deities, and who believed that Christianity was both atheistic (because of its theology of negation), impius (because of its identification of all pagan deities in a single Theos), and effiminate (because of its emphasis on peace and tolerance). The 'hicks' of Greco-Roman society refused to practice divination when Christians were present, blamed Christianity for the loss of strategic terretory to the Parthians, and resented the Christian tendency to avoid civil service after being initiated. They also resented the heavy secrecy of the Christian Church, which refused to reveal its Scriptures or rituals to outsiders.

Ironically, early Christianity was almost identical to modern Neo-Paganism. It was associated with women, considered weak and effiminant, accused of practicing satanic rituals and criminal acts, etc. It was embraced by urban, liberal, middle-class intellectuals, and opposed by rural, conservative and under-educated peasants who believed in a literal reading of Olympian Scripture.

As Olympian literalism waned, Christianity became the dominant religion of Roman Empire. The final blow came when Roman officials demanded a profession of Christianity before granting Roman Citizenship. As bad as that sounds, it was actually a progressive move. Before that, Roman citizenship was only conferred through birth or distinguished civil contributions. Gremanic tribes lined up on the Roman borders and climbed over each other to reach the baptismal font and receive citizenship.

The disassociation between Christianity and paganism did not actually occur until just a few centuries ago, when historians started reminding Christians of their pagan roots. Before that, Christians were far more likely to tolerate paganism than they were heresy with their own ranks. The Reformation made hersy a Christian virtue, and the archaeologists made paganism into witchcraft.

Incidentally, Christians rarely, if ever, converted pagans by force (there was no need to), and Constantine did NOT make Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire (a common misconception). In Constantine's day, there was no "paganism" like we think of today. Back then, similarities in relgion identified one religion with another. Constantine's Sol Invictus was nothing but the Logos of the Christians. "Pagan," back then, carried the same implications as "right-wing Christian fundamentalist" does today. When Christians wanted to refer to Greco-Roman non-Christian religion, they used the term "Hellene," a concept that was not only tolerated, but often embraced by the early Church.

Answer 7

Because it sort converts which Paganism tended not to. Some of the early Christian MEATHODS of conversion left something to be desired!
The final crunch was when Consantine made Christianity the official Roman religion (as Rome dominated the known world at that time) even though he himself was a pagan...

Answer 8

Christianity was foreign to the pagans. The pagans had grand festivals, grand temples, huge sacrifices, statues, etc. The first Christians, for hundreds of years, had none of it. Christianity was strange to the pagans.

Answer 9

You can call them Pagan Christians.By the way you asked an excellent question.

Answer 10

The early christian method of conversion was, 'convert or die'.

They also took on holidays based on pagan beliefs and made them part of their religion.