Pagan Europe

Ironically, a "No Roman Empire" might be one of the best scenarios for this. Christianity might just become a minor sect, or spread through an ATL Empire that holds Israel (probably Parthia/Persia), with a lot of other minor pagan kingdoms nearby adopting it while others shun it. Christianity never becomes dominant in the entire OTL! Roman Empire area, but rather it goes east.

We could get Christianized Arabia, Persia, Africa and maybe even India instead.
I have one question, is there still a Roman republic? Also, I don’t think India will be christianized.
 
I have one question, is there still a Roman republic?

Probably, but there ins't a huge mediterranean-spanning polity that allows for the easy spread of communication and religion. So instead of one big conversion, we would have nations and tribes adopting it and others shunning it, creating a religious hodge-podge. I'm actually imagining the Romans getting fanatical resistance from Christian tribes.


Also, I don’t think India will be christianized.

Who knows? The reason it never was, AFAIK, is because it was too far from the center of Christendom. Here, it will be right close.
 
In my understanding there were material reasons why Rome adopted Christianity, according to some theories it was a conscious decision on the part of the Roman ruling class seperate from Constantine.Roman peasants , once the military backbone of the republic, had been dispossessed, in either living in semi serfdom on latifundia or packed into teeming cities, entertained by the famous "bread and circuses". The empire was dangerously over extended, but yet had to continually expand to increase the supply of slaves and tax revenue.Christianity, by offering salvation to downtrodden masses, could tie them to Rome while continuing elements of the Roman state. Christianity , which despite being officially a continuation of Judaism, was an amalgamation of several pagan traditions. According to the Pagan Christ by Tom Harpur, Egyptian immigrants in Rome, a hundred years before Jesus was supposed to have been born, worshiped "Mary Mother of God", as part of a syncretic Egyptian folk religion. Possibly with no Christianity something very similar to it might have emerged. Maybe not though. whatever emerged might be more "pagany", without the Abrahamic absolutism.

An uneducated hot take. The Roman elite during the late Empire were already pretty much atheist or agnostic. Without Christianity some form of neo-platonism becomes popular with intellectuals. Stoicism continues. In various parts of the Empire saviour cults emerge. These have many local variations-some are militant revolutionary movements, others preach quietism, "render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar's, others are fiercely austere and are similar to Jainism. These are generally considered to be part of the same movement.Perha[s a severly austere religion catches on among the aristocracy in Egypt (in OTL monasticism was huge in late Roman Egypt) The religions in GOT reflect this, I think. Elements of Buddhism , Hinduism, and yoga traditions enter Europe, although there aren't major conversions.There are fusions of Greco-Roman mystery cults combined with Mithraism and Egpytian ideas.None of these become a major religion however.

The Empire collapses about the same time it did in OTL. The Dar Ages either lasts longer, without Christian monks copying manuscripts, or is much shorter, without the break in Hellenistic Classical culture.The Empire is chopped up by Germanic tribes as in OTL. Paganism continues but politics and the development of west European nation-states doesnt revolve around religion or churches. Nation states themselves might develop differently, perhaps Europe would remain an amalgamation of statelets, tribal confederacies and trading leagues. Temples dedicated to one god or another might compete or favor rival leaders, but there wouldn't be anything lie the Reformation or the Thirty Years war. Eventually some temples, say the temple of Wotan Allfather in London, begin to sponsor recovery of Classical learning and later the scientific method, although there are those, like Zizek who feel that Christianity's anti pagan break from nature was necessary for the scientific revolution.

Sorry for the rant.
 
I also like the idea of only Gaul and Iberia getting christianized. A split between Christianity (or some other mystery cult) and Greco-Roman polytheism seems very intriguing to me. But is this too ASB though?
 
I also like the idea of only Gaul and Iberia getting christianized. A split between Christianity (or some other mystery cult) and Greco-Roman polytheism seems very intriguing to me. But is this too ASB though?
The challenging part is that Gaul is the centerpoint between "Rome" and the "barbarian" world. You need an economically stronger Germania with a coherent and popular theology (maybe neoplatonic--use theurgy to speak with the gods, who are all an emanation from an all-encompassing GOD) to avoid the Germanic people who will rule Gaul from choosing to convert to Christianity out of their own self-interest. Perhaps the border will be similar to the linguistic barrier between "French" and "Occitan" languages. The northern French will thus likely incorporate a huge amount of Germanic influence, but also become the sole survivor of Roman polytheism assuming they keep speaking their local Vulgar Latin (i.e. Old French). I like this version of France since it serves as a borderland between the Mediterranean and Northern Europe and will incorporate a lot of syncretic Christianity to its beliefs, while still proclaiming faith in Jupiter, etc.

"Paganism" is dancing on a knife's edge come the end of the 5th century. Best case scenario is Christianity fragments--North Africa goes for Donatism, or more likely a new heresy which is a fusion of Donatism and Berber (including Jewish) beliefs (the Pope is a heretic, only the true Archbishops of Carthage carry on the line of Jesus and thus the true Christian faith!), and some schism between West and East occurs 600 years ahead of schedule. The British Isles follow Pelagius and incorporate Celtic influences. This will be related to political changes--successful North African and British usurpers, a weak Western Emperor, etc. Combined with developments in Germania, there might be an opportunity to solidify local paganism, although it will likely have some Christian elements (like equating Jesus to Baldr or similar doctrines). Essentially, Rome both East and West needs to be smashed in the 5th century to allow "paganism" some breathing Rome. Julian needs some success in the 4th century to help bring about this Rome. A splintered Christianity means there's more likely to be a focus on inter-Christian wars in the Mediterranean than dealing with the pagans in Northern Europe.
 
Would Buddhism clash with the Roman Ethnos? Maybe its just me, but it seems too... fatalistic and world-detached for Romans. Could do better with greeks.

Members of the Roman elite considered themselves Stoics, and IMO some of the views of non-attachment that Stoicism teaches are perfectly compatible with Buddhism.

For non-elites, the promise of a better afterlife in the form of reincarnation to a "pure land", cosmic justice for the wicked in the form of bad karma, and attribution of supernatural power to boddisatvhas and their monastical servants could draw them into conversion.

EDIT: I should add, I think that we will see native gods transplanted into Buddhism. I wrote a short story that saw Loki transformed from a trickster figure to a protector of Buddhist temples in Anglo-Norse mythology.
 
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