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If the Romans were tolerant of all religions why then did they persecute the Christians?
If the Romans persecuted Christians, then they weren't tolerant of all religions!

The Roman policy during the development of the empire was to tolerate the religion of the subjugated peoples and to avoid giving offense where possible.

Christianity became a notable exception to this policy for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the Christians would not bow to the state-sanctioned gods and importantly they would not worship the emperor.

Secondly, the Christians would not then attend the state-sanctioned feasts to the gods which they regarded as idolatrous. For these and other reasons they were regarded with suspicion and possibly as being subversive to the state although they were otherwise good citizens.

Thus, the policy regarding 'religious tolerance' changed since this particular religion was also becoming more widespread and was also seen somewhat differently from other religions which were more inclusive.

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First answer by Maxiogee. Last edit by PeteNco. Contributor trust: 541 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 1 [recommend question].

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