In spite of Christian tradition to the contrary, the Roman Empire was characterised by religious tolerance before the time of Emperor Constantine. Even the Jews, in spite of occasional insurrections, were treated with respect and their religion granted privileges by toleration. Edward Gibbon (
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) believes that much of the background to the traditions of an intolerant and persecuting pagan empire can be traced to the
ecclesiastical writers of the fourth or fifth centuries, who ascribed to the pagans the same degree of implacable and unrelenting zeal which filled their own breasts against the heretics or the idolaters of their own times.
The first and most obvious change to the empire brought about by Christianity was that its emperors and religious leaders were more intolerant. Under the reign of Constantine, the Jews became the subjects of Christian disapproval, and it was not long before they experienced the bitterness of tyranny. The civil immunities which they had been granted were gradually repealed by the Christian emperors. Constantine also began the long persecution of the pagan temples and, by the time of Theodosius, the public worship of the pagan gods was prohibited and it became a crime punishable by death even to look at the pagan statues that had been smashed by Christian mobs.
Taxes rose largely as a consequence of the generous financial support given to the Church. Soon, mothers sold their children and fathers prostituted their daughters just to pay the taxes imposed. The impoverishment of the empire was a contributing factor to its decline.
Rome faced a moral crisis. Constantine wished to replenish the state treasury by plundering the pagan temples, but the army refused this abbhorent task. The Church was, however, more than willing to assist, since this not only undermined the temples, it enabled Constantine to continue adding to the wealth and prestige of the Church. By the end of the century, the Church had begun looting the tempes for its own enrichment.