Ranges Community Church

So far this chapter in the book has been the most fascinating for me.

In the Christian communities women out numbered men. The reasons been:

-Female infanticide and abortion was common practice with Roman culture. This in turn caused the ratio of women to me in Rome to be 131 men to 100 women while the whole of Italy it was 140 men to 100 women. Thus Christians who did not commit abortion or infanticide had a greater proportions of women than the pagans around them.

-Converts were more likely to be women. Data from new religious movements in the 19th century confirms this trend.

-Christian women enjoyed greater status and power than their pagan counterparts.

-Their was greater security in marriage of a Christian marriage than the pagan counterpart. Extra marital affairs were frowned on. While marriage was looked at as very important.

-Christan women married much latter than their pagan counter part and had much more say in who they would marry.

That due to the higher ratios of Christian women to pagan men, their would probably be a number mixed marriages. Stark used some scripture to support this claim

Both Peter and Paul sanctioned marriage between Christians and pagans. Peter advised women with unconverted husbands to be submissive so that the men might be won to faith “when they see your reverent and chaste behavior” ( 1 Pet. 3:1-2). Paul gives similar advice, noting that” an unbelieving husband is consecrated through his wife” (1 Cor 7:13-14)…I suggest that these passages may reflect a far greater tolerance for exogenous marriage than has been recognized.”

Stark believes that there would have been more “secondary conversions” of men to Christianity, than women leaving the faith to Paganism. Again this was due to the status of women outlined above.

-Fertility factors, Roman men basically held marriage in low esteem. Romans used abortion and birth control. While Christian marriage was placed in high esteem. Christians did not use abortion or birth control. The results were large Christian families and very small Roman families.

Overall due to higher rates of fertility with Christians would have began to out pace the Pagan Roman communities. Causing an increase in the number of Christian. This would have been due to the factors outlined above.