DANGEROUS CHRISTOID SPOTTED
15d 11h ago by piefed.social/u/PugJesus in roughromanmemes@piefed.social from media.piefed.social
Explanation: One of the slanders regularly leveled against Early Christianity by Romans was the charge of atheism.
However, to the Romans, this had a somewhat different meaning - the gods didn't care if you believed in them, but refusing to perform rituals by their name was dangerous - even if you don't believe, if you're unwilling to do something as part of the community, you may risk their wrath - or else you mark yourself as in some way anti-social. That Christians refused to do this in the name of the traditional gods was consider being without gods. Just light the incense and say the words, pal! You have every other day of the year to not care about the gods!
Emphasizing this difference of definition, numerous Romans and provincials were atheists by modern definition - 'not believing in the existence of deities'. The Late Republican politician Cicero, for example, would be an agnostic or atheist by modern definitions... yet was elected as a priest and performed his duties there all the same! What did it matter if you believe, so long as you make the sacrifices properly? Does that tax man care if you 'believe' in taxes, so long as you pay him? Give unto the gods what is owed to the gods!
The Romans were very fond of slander and reputational damage as a means of attacking one's enemies. For most of the Empire, the only directly religiously-related legal charge that could be leveled was that of refusing to make oaths of loyalty to the Empire, which were accompanied by sacrifices and invocation of Roman gods, regardless of whether or not you believed in them. Sometimes Christians were spared this obligation, sometimes they were not.
Christianity, however, managed to run afoul of the law (or what passed for it) by several other charges, however, almost always presented by provincial and local governments, rather than the Empire. Most commonly 'obstinacy' (read: "Any provincial not doing what a governor demanded of them"), various charges of conspiracy ("We TOLD you that you CAN'T gather in secret. Gathering in public? That sounds dangerous too!"), and witchcraft (yes, an actual charge - though infamously difficult to prosecute under Roman law).
It would surprise if is also true of most religious people. They don't really believe but goes through the motions any to maintain social standing.
Funny thing is, the emphasis on orthopraxy ('correct practice') over orthodoxy ('correct belief') meant that it didn't even really matter if you were openly a disbeliever. All that mattered was that you did the rituals at the appropriate times with everyone else.