Rome allowed religious freedom for most of its territories. The only religions that were banned were religions that posed a problem for the government.

Judaism, the religion of Jews, eventually became a problem for the government. The Roman religion was polytheistic, meaning that it had many gods. Judaism is monotheistic, the worship of one God. Jews believed that their God was one true God and that all of the Roman gods were made up. Therefore, the Jews didn't worship the Roman gods and so they didn't mesh with the Roman Empire as well as other conquered territories meshed with the Romans. Many Romans were annoyed because the Jews did not worship the Roman gods. Most Jews at the time lived in Judea (in present day Israel), an area acquired by Rome in 63 BC, and they did not like being under Roman rule. Several times they rebelled against the Romans, but each time they were defeated. Rome eventually crushed Judea's capital city, Jerusalem.

Food For Thought

What countries/cultures exist today that do not have religious freedom?

How is it that 2,000 years later people are still struggling for religious freedom?