Was it a crime to be a Christian in Roman times?

Answer 1

In the early Roman Empire, it was a crime to be an atheist, which was a person who refused to worship the Roman gods. However, Jews were exempted from this rule because of their obvious sincerity and the perceived antiquity of their faith. For most of the first century, Christianity was regarded by the Romans as simply another sect of Judaism.

Later, the Christians were largely ignored. Emperor Trajan directed the magistrates to punish such persons as were legally convicted, but prohibited them from making any inquiries concerning the supposed criminals and rejected anonymous charges, strictly requiring the positive evidence of a fair and open accuser. His successor, Hadrian, went further, making it a capital offence to accuse another of being a Christian without sufficient proof.

As early as the late second century, the most favoured concubine of Emperor Commodus (180-192) was a Christian, although she later contrived his murder. There are many subsequent examples of the Roman emperors having Christians in their households or of exchanging correspondence with Christian religious leaders. By the third century, substantial churches were springing up across the empire.

When Diocletian instituted the Great Persecution in 303 CE, this arguably had more to do with the perceived threat of Christianity to the good government of the Roman Empire than with religious persecution for its own sake.

Thus, the crime under which a Christian could be punished was rarely used against Christians, and when charges were brought against Christians, they were usually given every opportunity to avoid the charges without compromising their faith.