Why You Think the Way You Do: The Story of Western Worldviews from Rome to Home

by Glenn S. Sunshine

A second area of change involved the adoption of elements of paganism into the church. Constantine, possibly out of earlier devotion to Sol Invictus, made the first day of the week (“Sun” day) a holiday in 321, though there is strong evidence that from the first century on, Christians had worshiped on this day in commemoration of Easter. But the Feast of the Nativity (aka Christmas) was set to December 25, the birthday of the sun, in part to compete with the pagan holiday of Saturnalia. Elements of pagan worship such as candles, garlands, and incense were gradually introduced into the church, though they had been avoided earlier because of their association with paganism. The Virgin Mary grew in importance, at times being connected to pagan goddesses such as Isis. The cult of saints and martyrs also grew, with Christian saints sometimes replacing pagan deities. Technically, the saints were not supposed to be worshiped, but people coming from a pagan background in which they were encouraged to pray to the saints were not likely to understand the distinction between prayer and outright worship.