Did religion spread during Mediterranean trade?

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Did religion spread during Mediterranean trade?

3 Answers

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Answer 1

Are you asking: How far east did early Christian evangelizers go? We cannot say for sure, since the Bible does not comment on this. However, you might be surprised to learn just how far trade routes between the Mediterranean and the Orient extended in the first century C.E. At the very least, the existence of such routes indicates that there were good possibilities for travel to the east. Certainly, the Christian message spread far enough so that the apostle Paul could say that it was “bearing fruit and increasing in all the world”—that is, to the far-flung reaches of the then-known world. (Colossians 1:6)

Answer 2

Sort of yes and sort of no. Christianity spread through imperialism, and conquest. The reason that Catholicism is the largest denomination of the christian religion is because it spread through the Spanish Portuguese, and Roman empires, which is why South America and most of the world is predominantly Catholic.

Answer 3

Inevitably, though I think the main reason for the spread was the stability provided by the relative stability of the Roman Empire. Once Constantine signed the Edict of Milan (313 CE) the new religion began to flourish and spread. Obviously it reached some countries sooner than others -- the "twilight" of the Norse gods, for instance, really got under way about the 14th century -- but you were only asking about the Med.

Here's an interesting link from the National Geographic that might help. Time Line of early Christianity.