How did the Edict of Toleration affect the spread of Christianity?

Answer 1

Galerius issued the Edict of Toleration in 311 CE, thus bringing to an end the Great Persecution that he himself had urged on his predecessor, Diocletian. This brought to an end a period of three centuries during which Christianity was theoretically illegal, although usually ignored, often tolerated and rarely persecuted. In practice, the Great Persecution, which began in 303 CE, had already come to an end in the west, following the abdication of Diocletian in 305, and the immediate effect of the Edict of Toleration was to end the persecution of Christians in the east.

Theoretically, the Edict of Toleration ought to have provided permanent freedom of religion for the entire Roman Empire, and thus ensure that Christianity would never again be persecuted. In practice, a succession of Christian emperors meant that Christianity no longer needed this safeguard, but that the pagans began to suffer persecution, regardless of the Edict of Toleration.

This analysis shows that the practical effect of the Edict of Toleration on the spread of Christianity was quite limited. On the one hand, the Christian emperors did not require a law in order for them to encourage the new religion. On the other hand, the Edict of Toleration did nothing to assist the pagan temples or to slow the advance of Christianity.