When the romans took control over the jews why did they allow the jews to practice their religious beliefs?

Answer 1

The Romans were tolerant of other people's beliefs and they allowed "foreign" religions as long as those religions or practices were not treasonous or were not detrimental to the empire in some way.

Answer 2

Because the Jews agreed to live by Roman rule.

The Romans did not generally object to the religious beliefs of their subject peoples provided the latter also observed Roman religious practices. Jews and Christians of course refused to do this.

The Romans never forced their religious beliefs on any people they subjected. On the contrary, they often embraced religious practices and even gods from other religions if they liked the look of them. You must remember that the Christians (and later, the Muslims) have been the only believers in history to hold that their religion is superior to anyone else's AND translated that conviction into converting others and suppressing their original beliefs .

So by our standards, the Romans were religiously tolerant. By their own standards, it wouldn't even enter their minds to suppress a local religion unless its beliefs brought the locals in direct conflict with their political or strategic interests.
The Romans were actually very tolerant of "foreign" and "different" religions.

They also made a differentiation be religions (practiced since antiquity) and cults (new beliefs). The Jewish religion was recognized as being practiced even before Rome existed and was thus granted an exception for they "strange" refusal to sacrifice to the Emperor. Cults (e.g. the new Christianity) could not be granted such an exception and if their followers were to refuse to sacrifice to the Emperor then they would be persecuted to attempt to force them to sacrifice.

Answer 2

Until the fourth century, the majority of the Romans were polytheistic. It is in the general nature of polytheistic religions to show relative tolerance towards other cults, since there is no one, jealous god who could feel threatened by a new God. Thus, the only real disputes between the Romans and Jews were the result of frequent uprisings and rebellions, both in Palestine and the Jewish diaspora.

The Jews lost many privileges following the Second Roman-Jewish War of 132 to 136, but Antoninus Pius (138-161) soon restored those privileges, with the easy restraint that the Jews should never circumcise any foreign proselyte. This was really the only religious constraint that the Jews faced under Roman rule until the Christian emperors of the fourth century.

Answer 3

Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, the two sons of the Jewish King Yannai (Johanan Hyrcanus, 1st century BCE), got the Romans involved in Judea when they asked them to settle a dispute. At first the Romans were cordial; and they actually became party to a military treaty with Judea (Talmud, Avodah Zara 8b). The Romans didn't interfere much in Jewish internal matters, because the main thing that they wanted was taxes and a quiet populace.
A couple of decades later, however, they unilaterally abrogated the treaty, and placed Roman governors over the land who afflicted the Jews with crushing taxation (Talmud, Yoma 9a).

In the first two centuries CE, things got worse, with the Romans destroying Jerusalem and the Second Temple after the Jewish Zealots attempted to revolt. The Romans sold hundreds of thousands of Jews into slavery (Josephus). From time to time they forbade the observance of the Torah-commands, and they killed several of the leading Sages, despite the fact that the Torah-leaders had advised against revolt (Talmud, Gittin 56a).

Later, Simeon Bar Kochba led a second revolt, in an ill-advised attempt to recreate the independent Judea. The Romans responded by destroying Betar.

See also the Related Links.

Link: The Destruction

Link: The Revolt

Link: Jewish history timeline

Link: The Jews and the Romans