Conversion in Late Antiquity: Islam v. Christianity

Christianity and Islam are closely related religions, with the key differences between focusing mainly on their different understandings of Jesus and the latter's emphasis on the prophesies of Muhammad. Although they are not the only Abrahamic faiths, they nevertheless spread rapidly in the century or two following their founding, and through today, their adherents make up almost half of humankind. The key aspect that they share, other than a clear belief in the same supreme being, is that they are both salvation religions, teaching that through a combination of belief and right conduct, human beings can obtain eternal life in Heaven after their physical life ends. Although this message was popular in late antiquity, there were other salvation religions that were ultimately less popular. Christianity and Islam were both successful, therefore, for reasons other than the message of salvation, but the most vital factors were actually for their individual successes were quite different.

Christianity was spread among people other than Jews, from among whom it originated, primarily through the ministry of St. Paul. Paul was a Jew from Tarsus in modern-day Turkey, but he held Roman citizenship, which he used to travel more freely than other people living under Roman rule might have. This freedom of movement significantly facilitated the success of St. Paul's ministry. In addition, St. Paul, as well as the other first-generation leaders of the Christian church, spoke Greek as at least a second language if not their primary language; much of the Middle East and all of modern-day Turkey was Greek-speaking since its Hellenization by Alexander the Great. The dissemination of the Christian message in as widespread a language as Greek also greatly facilitated the spread of Christianity. Finally, once the Roman Emperor Constantine adopted Christianity as Rome's state religion in the early fourth century, Christianity benefited enormously, not only from the elimination of Roman persecution of Christians, but also because the spread of Christianity could subsequently benefit from Roman political authority, resources, and trade routes.[1]

Islam seems to have benefited most in its initial period from the Muslim concept of jihad, or struggle. Although theological interpretation of the term has varied greatly over the 1,400-year history of Islam, it is relatively clear that, in this vital first period, during which Islam spread enormously, jihad entailed the spreading of the Islamic faith through force. Certainly, it is unquestioned, including by Muslims themselves, that Muhammad spread Islam from Medina to Mecca by the sword. As the Muslim world expanded, jihad worked hand in hand with less militant methods, including the offering of economic incentives to countries accepting Islamic rule, if not the Islamic faith itself. Although most communities that came under Muslim rule became Muslim themselves, small communities of Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians enjoyed protected minority status under Islamic rule in exchange for the payment of a poll tax. This policy assured the continued spread of Islam by the consolidation of political authority without the need to forcibly convert subject populations.[2]

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[1] Jerry Bentley and Herbert Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters, Volume 1: To 1500, 3rd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012), 153-154.
[2] Ibid, 198-204.