The Success and Expansion of Christianity

Christianity rose to become one of the primary religions in the world. It proposed a change in society that allowed for people to perceive the way they live their general lives in and outside of religious boundaries differently. This change in how people viewed the world was received very positively, openly, and thoroughly, allowing the religion to rise up in terms of popularity/numbers and expand its boundaries. Specifically, what was unique about Christianity which appealed to so many people throughout early history was that its philosophies and principles redirected religious organization as well as social organizations which improved individual behavior and relationships, ultimately helping Christianity to rise up in popularity. This change in the ways of looking at relationships with other humans, not just about one’s relation with their deity, brought a new understanding of humanity to the table, altering the world which was overflowing with cruelties and negative action against humanity; in other words, Christianity proposed a change to the way people live their daily lives, and that change was widely yearned for and accepted. 

Christianity also posed dramatic change on the virtues which people observe and reflect upon in their daily lives. Christian principles were viewed as somewhat of a handbook by which people used to understand how they should act and participate in society. This was a significant difference between Christianity and most other religions at the time (e.g Judaism, Islam, etc). The contrast really promoted the new religion to a new level, as the main difference included that most other religions expressed requirements that needed to be fulfilled in order to be a participant in the religion. Judaism required the ethnic classification to have a Jewish ethnicity, for example. Christianity merely formed something more than a religion, and everything which encompassed the religion was just a guideline by which believers would follow and adapt for--it established a social format. This is the essential reason why Christianity became such a dominant world religion: it created an organizational framework about social relationships on a basis of religion. A Christian would then have the freedom to live the Christian philosophies and beliefs to the extent desired, which changed the world around humans, socially speaking. It was a unifying force which cancelled out all concepts of division, whether that be ethnically, socially, economically, sexually, etc. There were no requirements, therefore Christianity was much more open, and consequently more expansive and sizable, soon to be growing exponentially throughout history. The religion prompted liberating social relationships between people and united them through their differences; all barriers were broken as far as Christianity was concerned. Differences or requirements didn’t matter, religiously. That’s what made Christianity so special, prominent, and expansive: it was more than a religion--it introduced a new way of life which people sought for.