From Jupiter to Christ

By Jörg Rüpke

Book Description

Discover how the very concept of religion transformed during one of history's most pivotal periods in this illuminating exploration of Roman imperial spirituality. Drawing from a decade of scholarly research, this work reveals a profound shift that occurred not through the rise of new faiths, but through a fundamental reimagining of what religion itself could be.

Rather than simply cataloging ancient beliefs and rituals, this study unveils how spiritual practice evolved from serving individual needs and public identity into something far more encompassing. You'll explore how religion transformed from a tool for addressing life's uncertainties—illness, insecurity, and mortality—into comprehensive systems that shaped entire ways of living and community belonging.

The journey traces religion's evolution through the institutions, texts, and laws that carried spiritual ideas across cultures and borders. Through carefully chosen case studies, you'll witness how religious practices adapted as they spread, revealing the mechanisms that made Roman spirituality remarkably portable and influential.

This examination shows how spiritual traditions became intellectualized and systematized, ultimately creating religion as a distinct sphere of human experience. For those interested in understanding how spiritual movements develop and spread, this work offers valuable insights into the processes that shape religious consciousness across time and cultures.

The transformation from Jupiter to Christ represents more than a change in deities—it illuminates how humanity's relationship with the sacred itself can be reimagined and restructured.