The Gateway Chronicle 2020

38
individuals, who believe that different
gods have different powers, can often
agree that either their gods are not the
only gods with power, or that two groups
of society may worship the same gods under
different names. In fact, there is evidence
to show that despite the Roman displeasure
with some Druid practices, for
example human sacrifice, they were remarkably
tolerant
of the Druids. This
can also be said for
the whole of the
Roman Empire,
where the Druids
and other religious
trends that were
spreading, for example
Mithraism,
were almost always
tolerated.
Notably, the Romans
had soldiers
fighting in their
army from across
their empire who
were followers of
many religions,
and their empire
provided trade opportunities
that
brought tradesmen
and immigrants
with it that otherwise
would not
have come to the
island with their
own ideas, beliefs,
and ideologies.
Thus, the Roman
occupation was instrumental
in bringing foreign ideas into
Britain and can be credited with initially
bringing Christianity to our Island.
Christians were widely unpopular across
the Roman Empire for three main reasons.
One of these was because of their monotheistic
views. They refused to take part in
Animal or crop sacrifice and engage in
minimal levels of worship of other gods,
which was expected of those living in the
Roman Empire. Resultantly, they were rejected
by Roman Civilisation, and were
seen as outcasts by other citizens. Secondly,
they were a small group in comparison
to their Jewish counterparts, who
during the early years of the AD period
begun a series of revolts against the Roman
rulers. This particularly angered emperor
Nero who
then after the
Great Fire of Rome
of July AD64,
blamed the Christian
community of
Rome for starting
the fire. This led to
all Christians being
exiled from the
Empire and the
ones that remained
being persecuted
through the forms
of torture and execution.
This persecution
came to an
end between
AD312 when the
Emperor Constantine
converted to
Christianity, and
AD313 where Constantine
and Emperor
Licinius who
controlled the Balkans
agreed the
Edict of Milan,
which gave Christians
a legal status.
Notably, it was
Saint Alban
during this period,
that our Saint, Alban,
was killed after returning from
fighting in the Roman Army for refusing
to renounce his newfound Christian faith
after being caught harbouring a Christian
preacher with whom he had travelled.
Not only was Alban the first saint from
Briton, but his story is testament to the
reach of the Empire in terms of spread of
ideas and philosophies. The sheer size of