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From a historical perspective, religion has been in existence as long as civilization. For many centuries, it was central to the function of society, in day to day, as well as political life. Religion invokes a feeling of respect of something greater than yourself, which is central in guiding your life.

Religion is a source of hope for people. That is a fact, which plays a role in many historical events. The Romans would pay homage to Jupiter, to ensure his blessing before going on campaign. In Rome itself, days on which events were to take place, such as the departure of the army, or elections for magistrates, the priests were consulted, and it was they, who recommended the proper days for holding events, in order to be in harmony with the gods.

Hope is the feeling of an individual, or a society, that the future holds better times for them. It serves for internal peace and semblance. Basing one's life on that hope has been central throughout history, and the fear that the higher authority is key to determining how a person's life turns out, it is also cause for concern in doing anything against the principles dictated by the set of beliefs that a person is following.

Sinning is defined as doing actions that oppose the message of goodwill a religion is trying to profess. Even people who don't feel they have an affiliation with any particular deity, believe in a set of morals that are found in holy books.

The progression of belief systems, however, has also had an impact on how people behave. In the ancient world, polytheistic religions dominated: those of the Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Gauls and Romans. Each religion was alive for as long as the people following it were. In the decades leading from the beginning of the new era, since Christ's birth, the increasing influence of monotheistic religions has taken hold. This was met with resistance.

When people of one religion face an unknown set of beliefs that another group professes, they react with fear and uncertainly. In the case of Rome, Christianity spread with the rapidity of wildfire throughout the empire. As a result, the emperors saw this as a threat to the stability of the state, and established a policy of pogroms, or armed suppression and persecution against Christians.

This confrontation between religions leads to a divide in subsequent generations. The struggle between the polytheistic Romans and the monotheistic Christians lasted for several centuries, until Constantine instituted Christianity as the

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