Ashley Robbins

Mr. Evans
Sophomore Religion
April 12, 2016

God sent His only Son to take up the cross to save us sinners. In a similar way, early
Christians took up a cross to save the faith of future generations. Throughout history, Christians
have faced obstacles and persecution. This essay is meant to compare the struggles Christians
have faced beginning with early Christianity, continuing through the French Revolution, and
evident even today.
Up until the year 312, Christianity was all about survival. There were no churches,
convents or schools to deepen the understanding of the Christian faith. All worship and study
was conducted underground for fear of persecution and death. If you were Christian, you were
considered criminal because you were an enemy of the Roman Empire. The way the Catholic
faith survived was clandestine, or in secret, and passed on by word of mouth. If you were going
to become Catholic, you would be assigned a Godmother or Godfather, who took you to mass in
someones home, but the house where the meeting was held was secret. The Liturgy was so
important because you prayed what you believed, and that was how you learned your faith. So,
new believers recited, ecclesia orans est a ecclesia credans, which translates to the praying
church is the believing church. Then, Constantine, The Roman Emperor, issued The Edict of
the Milan which said that Christians had legal status in the empire ending persecution for a time.
At the beginning of the French Revolution, Catholicism was the official religion of
France, and almost all of the population was Catholic. However, the Era of Enlightenment
started, and the sequence of wars between Catholics and Protestants caused Europeans to become

disgusted with religion. They started placing their beliefs in reason rather than religion. People
were sick of religion because each side ended lives in the name of Christ. During this time, the
church was criticized for its power and influence and the intolerance of other religions, including
Judaism and Protestant religions. Some also criticized the monasteries because monks and nuns
spent their days praying rather than doing good works. Therefore, the Catholic Church was
being persecuted in France, so once again they had to go underground, or they would have been
exiled or guillotined forcing Christians into a time of survival.
Still today, persecution is evident for Christians. Recently, four nuns were shot in Mother
Teresas Missionary, The Sisters of Charity Nursing Home, in Yemen. Also, an Indian Priest
serving with the nuns was captured, and ISIS planned on crucifying him on Good Friday, but, no
one is sure what happened to him. In addition, twenty one Christians were laboring in Libya,
and ISIS tied them up, cut their throats, beheading them, and posted it on the Internet. In
America, there is a constant struggle between religion and humanism, secularism, and science.
People today are trying to live their lives with different values because of the emphasis on
secular culture. A popular example is that many teenagers feel they need to pray in private, hide
their faith, or downplay their values in order to fit into societys portrayal of popular culture.
The Catholic faith has undergone years of persecution and trials to become a dominant
religion today. From the death of Christ to the year 312, Christians had to practice their faith
underground to escape the brutality of the Roman Empire. The French Revolution brought the
next era of persecution as different religions continued to fight for dominance. Today, Catholics
still encounter persecution around the world and in America, as they fight to practice their faith.
Even after all these years, it is a sad reality that we do not have total freedom of religion, but I
believe that God is in control and He has a plan that will all make sense in the end.

Works Cited
Betros, Gemma. The French Revolution and the Catholic Church. History Today Dec. 2010.
Web. 10 April 2016.
Brier, Donald Reverend. Personal interview. 10 April 2016.
Valentine, Daniel Reverend. Personal interview. 10 April 2016.