Polytheistic Catholicism/Christianity

Let's say that the religion inspired by Jesus somehow develops as an inclusive belief system that doesn't forbid the worship of other deities (kind of like Buddhism). What if the Romans and/or Greeks claim Jesus is the son of Jupiter/Zeus rather than Yahweh's? Then you have images and statues of Jesus alongside goddesses of love, gods of fortune, gods of war, etc. Maybe there would be no need to rename certain deities as saints?
 
Constantine the Great zealously accepts Christianity and patronizes the faith. Yet his support for the Church is gradually seen as a threat to his own rule, as it became a parallel source of authority. So he convenes all Christian bishops to meet at Nicaea, promising to plot the course of the faith.

Yet on the way, most bishops are seized by legions before arriving, and those who do arrive at Nicaea are personally arrested by Constantine. He immediately issues a proclamation that it is heretical for the faith to be organized by mortals on earth, and that all bishops will be defrocked and forced to return to lay life. All land and property belonging to the Church is seized, officially because of their doctrinal heresy. Yet he remains a devout follower of Christ and continues to support local clergy, being careful to ensure they do not organize on a large scale.

With a lack of doctrinal dogma, the Church becomes decentralized. Most Romans are "Christian", all Roman towns have elaborate churches, yet pagan gods are widely worshiped.
 
How is he pulling this off? Why are the Christians accepting this?

And Constantine has exactly zip for authority to defrock anyone.
 
The Nicene creed/trinity was a compromise intended to win the support of newly-converted Pagans. If Arianism or another non-trinitarian doctrine becomes dominant or otherwise official, that might radicalize its opponents in the church, who could develop the trinity into henotheism by elevating some apostles or saints. From there, it's not much further to full-on polytheism. Perhaps the W. Roman empire lasts longer, so theologians have more time to argue?
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
You mean saints? Because that's what OTL's Christianity did; it just turned local deities into saints.
 
Constantine's base was in the army, so perhaps by spreading the belief among his soldiers that Christianity as an institution is heretical (and by promising generous pensions, land, etc), he could convince enough soldiers to pull of his "coup". He could also start a covert propaganda campaign among the public against the Church as an organized hierarchy prior to the council and spread gossip about abusive and corrupt bishops who indulge in un-Christ-like things.

Of course no emperor has the religious authority to defrock anyone, but a combination of intimidation, thuggery, and bribery might be enough to make enough bishops to vacate their positions and declare organized Christianity to be heretical. Or maybe his strong-arm tactics make the Council of Niceae declare that every person should find their own path to God (thereby bringing the Protestant Reformation up by about 1200 years), and that mortals have no right to interfere with this process. This way he destroys any potential parallel authority to his own power, allowing Christianity to develop alongside pagan faiths.
 
Rather than gods being demoted to saints, saints get upgraded to gods. At least at first they would probably be lesser gods, though.
 
How about this: Jesus, after interacting with several polytheists, realizes YHWH (or his father if he sees himself that way) is not the only deity in control of the universe. He comes to accept other supernatural forces and spirits, making his teachings seem even more heretical to Jewish authorities.
 
Constantine's base was in the army, so perhaps by spreading the belief among his soldiers that Christianity as an institution is heretical (and by promising generous pensions, land, etc), he could convince enough soldiers to pull of his "coup". He could also start a covert propaganda campaign among the public against the Church as an organized hierarchy prior to the council and spread gossip about abusive and corrupt bishops who indulge in un-Christ-like things.

Of course no emperor has the religious authority to defrock anyone, but a combination of intimidation, thuggery, and bribery might be enough to make enough bishops to vacate their positions and declare organized Christianity to be heretical. Or maybe his strong-arm tactics make the Council of Niceae declare that every person should find their own path to God (thereby bringing the Protestant Reformation up by about 1200 years), and that mortals have no right to interfere with this process. This way he destroys any potential parallel authority to his own power, allowing Christianity to develop alongside pagan faiths.

Or it might just be like any past persecution, with all the effects thereof. More martyrs, more trouble, more problems - but no dissolution of Christianity or destruction of organized authority.

Declaring organized Christianity heretical is not going to happen.

Constantine might be able to round up and execute/imprison/abuse a number of bishops, but that won't really address much of anything.
 
How about this: Jesus, after interacting with several polytheists, realizes YHWH (or his father if he sees himself that way) is not the only deity in control of the universe. He comes to accept other supernatural forces and spirits, making his teachings seem even more heretical to Jewish authorities.

...in which case he cannot claim to be the Jewish Messiah, which results in him merely getting laughed off by the Jewish priests instead of being perceived as a threat. He is forgotten like countless other self-proclaimed Messiahs.
 

MSZ

Banned
This would propably require an very early PoD, where "Tritheism" becomes a dogma of the Church, rather than the "Holy Trinity". Difficult to say at what point exactly could this happen - the catholics strongly opposed accusations of being Politheists, so I think it could only happen from top to bottom - some Roman Emperor who accepts christianity simultaneosly abbandons the Trinity dogma in favor of Tritheism in order not to offend other Politheistic religions in the Empire. Some future synod would still have to confirm it though.
 
I was under the impression that the Roman god Mithras was meant to be an attempt by the Romans to accost Christianity into their religious practices. Given the similarities between the two it could just be a biggesr push is needed to convert the converted.
 
I've always thought it interesting to note that Islam's early perception of Christianity and the concept of the Trinity was equivalent to overt Polytheism - "there is no god but god" and all that.
 
I've always thought it interesting to note that Islam's early perception of Christianity and the concept of the Trinity was equivalent to overt Polytheism - "there is no god but god" and all that.

Depending on whom you talk to, that's not strictly an "early perception."

Most muslims I know tend to view Christians as silly polytheists who, while trying to defend their monotheistic view of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, end up arguing themselves into a corner.

And actually, since I was raised Mormon and we view Jesus and God as separate entities, the Muslims who know the distinction between general "Christian" and Mormons like Mormons better.
 
How about this: Jesus, after interacting with several polytheists, realizes YHWH (or his father if he sees himself that way) is not the only deity in control of the universe. He comes to accept other supernatural forces and spirits, making his teachings seem even more heretical to Jewish authorities.

So Jesus is no longer Jesus, but some entirely different person with the same name?

Jesus was a Jew, and his ministry was within the Jewish tradition which was already quite aware the rest of the world was polytheist. For him to abandon that would just make him an apostate Jew with no credibility among the Jewish people. Most, maybe all, of his followers leave him. He just becomes some strange crank and dies completely forgotten.
 
And actually, since I was raised Mormon and we view Jesus and God as separate entities, the Muslims who know the distinction between general "Christian" and Mormons like Mormons better.

Do those Muslims actually understand that Mormons believe there is more than one god, and that Mormons believe they can become gods after they die?
 
So Jesus is no longer Jesus, but some entirely different person with the same name?

Jesus was a Jew, and his ministry was within the Jewish tradition which was already quite aware the rest of the world was polytheist. For him to abandon that would just make him an apostate Jew with no credibility among the Jewish people. Most, maybe all, of his followers leave him. He just becomes some strange crank and dies completely forgotten.

Considering he ended up becoming an "apostate Jew with no credibility among the Jewish people" anyway, wouldn't it make him immediately more popular with pagans?
 
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