The growth of Christianity in the first four centuries AD and its transformation from being unknown to becoming a significant force in the Roman Empire has been credited to factors like divine intervention and supernatural occurrences. However, it is crucial to explore this phenomenon further and obtain a more thorough understanding of its intricacies. Rodney Stark, an expert in sociology and comparative religion at the University of Washington, investigates this fascinating enigma.
He introduces real social science, including formal rational choice theory, theories of the firm, the role of social networks and interpersonal attachments in conversion, dynamic population models, social epidemiology, and models of religious economies to historians and biblical scholars. The outcome is a stimulating, thought-provoking, and groundbreaking book. In “The Rise of Christianity”, Rodney Stark examines various factors that played a part in the expansion and embrace of Christianity across the Roman Empire from 0 to around 400 AD.
The author challenges the idea that Christianity’s rapid growth in a certain period was solely due to miracles and mass conversion. Instead, he uses social science tools to show how Christianity’s appealing characteristics contributed to its widespread adoption. While acknowledging the possibility of divine intervention, the author believes societal factors can explain this phenomenon. According to calculations, there were around 5-7 million Christians in the fourth century. The author determines that Christianity grew at a rate of 3.42% per year and roughly 40% per decade. This growth rate is realistic and consistent with other modern religious movements like the Mormon Church. Despite this similar growth rate, there have been no reports of mass conversions in the Mormon Church. In another study, the author and John Lofland examine Young Oon Kim’s early mission to America in the 1960s (pp. 3-7).
Miss Kim and her young followers arrived in Oregon from Korea in 1959 with the purpose of founding the Unification Church, also known as the Moonies. There are two main theories that explain how Christianity has grown, as mentioned earlier. The initial theory proposes that individuals primarily convert to a new and unconventional religious group through established social networks based on strong personal relationships. This implies that for a religious group to expand, it must uphold and extend its social networks.
According to Stark, new religious groups typically attract dissatisfied and inactive followers from non-religious backgrounds. Unlike Christianity, which primarily attracted members from the upper social classes. Stark believes in the deprivation theory, but acknowledges that there are two types of desires: the desire for scarce rewards like wealth or health, and the desire for unattainable rewards like immortality. It is this latter desire that explains why cult movements often appeal to individuals from privileged backgrounds. In chapter two of his study, Stark explores whether it matters if early Christianity was a movement of the privileged or disadvantaged. He argues that it does matter because if Christianity had been seen as a proletarian movement, it would have been perceived as a threat by those in power and suppressed accordingly. Additionally, Stark suggests that Hellenistic Jews played a significant role in Christianity’s growth since Hellenistic Judaism disappeared while its literature survived among Alexandrian Christians.
According to Stark, Christianity was appealing to Hellenistic Jews much like Reform Judaism was attractive to 19th-century Jews. He believes that Christianity incorporated important aspects of both Judaism and Hellenism, while also offering a chance for Jews to improve their social status. Unlike Philo’s symbolic interpretation of Judaism, Christianity provided a strong belief in the afterlife, giving reasons for natural disasters and presenting an optimistic view of the future (pp. 51-74).
According to Stark, there were two additional factors that contributed to the rapid growth of Christianity. The first factor was the epidemics in the mid-second century. During these epidemics, Christians demonstrated their commitment to love and charity, allowing them to effectively support each other within their community. As a result, Christians had a higher survival rate than others, which some pagans saw as a “miracle.” The second factor was that the traditional belief systems at that time were unable to explain the immense devastation caused by these epidemics. This led many people to choose Christianity as a new religious option.
The increase in Christianity’s influence and its growing fame can be credited to a specific occurrence that affected women seeking to steer clear of harmful practices such as infanticide, abortion, and birth control. Consequently, adopting Christianity resulted in higher fertility rates compared to non-Christian factions. As per Stark, the union between Christian women and non-Christian men possibly contributed greatly to the subsequent surge in conversions.
According to Stark (p. 129), the initial growth of Christianity occurred mainly in urban areas, where specific factors played a role in conversions. In the cities of the Greco-Roman era, the expansion of Christianity was facilitated by issues such as overcrowding and lack of organization. As demonstrated by Antioch, its population density reached around 117 individuals per acre by the end of the first century (pp. 149-50). Additionally, these cities had rudimentary sanitation systems and inadequately ventilated homes because they relied on furnaces and fireplaces for cooking and heating.
The outcomes of these conditions included not only filth and widespread disease but also crime and uprising. Furthermore, this state of human chaos frequently led to natural disasters such as fire, earthquake, and famine (pp. 154-61). Christianity’s triumph is thus credited, at least partially, to its reaction to the disorder and misery in urban areas. What allowed Christians to put their own lives, well-being, and resources at risk? By employing rational choice theory, Stark demonstrates that religious sacrifices and stigmatization, even in the cases of early Christian martyrs who chose persecution over renouncing their faith, are often rational decisions.
Stark (p. 167) proposes that the more costly a religion is, the better value it offers. The imposition of high demands tends to result in thriving religious groups by effectively excluding those with low levels of commitment and participation. Christianity, by requiring much of its followers, fostered a strong sense of belonging and offered significant rewards, including immortality in this world and the next, physical assistance, security, and love (pp. 177-88). Stark analyzes two factors that contributed to Christianity’s growth, namely the excessive religious pluralism and freedom in Rome, and the shortcomings of Paganism.
The author examines the organizational aspects of Christianity that contributed to its emergence as a formidable rival to paganism (pp. 195-98). Nevertheless, Christianity’s triumph was not solely due to the flaws of other faiths. Its success stemmed from its ability to inspire the lives of its followers, which in turn spurred its expansion. “Moreover, it was the embodiment of these doctrines in actual practices and personal conduct that paved the way for the ascent of Christianity (pg. 211).” Christianity provided a culture that transcended ethnic boundaries.
In cities where cultural chaos prevailed, Christianity played a crucial role in promoting social cohesion. It emphasized the importance of egalitarian relationships between genders and offered support to those who were sick or homeless. Most importantly, Christianity introduced a fresh perspective on human nature in a world characterized by random acts of cruelty and an unhealthy obsession with death. Although this book may not be easily understood by everyone, it is worth reading due to its clear language and arguments, as Rodney Stark intentionally wrote it for a general audience (p. 3).
The book employs sociological propositions to analyze historical data, enhancing its compelling and unique arguments. However, caution should be taken while reading it. Firstly, the reader may not have enough expertise to thoroughly evaluate the historical sources and the author’s choice of literature, leading to tentative acceptance of Starks arguments. Secondly, skepticism is necessary because the application of modern sociological propositions may not be entirely suitable.
Despite claiming that generalization is possible, it is important to acknowledge the need for significant fundamental changes in societies and human behavior from the first four to the 20th century. These changes may impact the validity of generalizations. In light of these issues and lessons learned from this book, several questions arise. Do we, as a Christian community in Kenya, possess the traits of open networks? If not, how can we cultivate these characteristics? Does our theology genuinely address and respond to real-life circumstances?
