Christentum im Trend. Monotheistische Tendenzen in der späten Antike

Abstract

According to a popular view, the history of religion in Late Antiquity is dominated by the opposition of Christian monotheism and pagan polytheism. In the last few years, however, scholars of that period have come to detect a phenomenon they called ‘pagan monotheism’. To put it more cautiously, we can see a tendency towards monotheism within the pagan world of Late Antiquity.

The article offers a survey of archaeological, epigraphical and literary evidence of ‘pagan monotheism’ – it seems to be better to speak of ‘henotheism’ – in different areas of the ancient world (philosophy, politics, religion). Considering the results of current research on this topic, the development of religious ideas and practices from the second century C.E. onwards becomes intriguingly complicated. The promotion of the Christian church by Constantine I. and his successors was not at all the decisive turning point of history as pronounced in Christian propaganda. Rather, the Christian belief that God is One, no less than Constantine's politics in favour of Christianity, was part of a more general ‘trend’ towards monotheism. The success of the Christian religion owes very much to this favourable circumstances.

Hence, looking at the idea of One God, the article argues that we should reconsider our conception of ‘Christianity’ and ‘Paganism’ and the interactions between them in Late Antiquity.