RT Article
T1 Plagues, Pagans, and Christians: Differential Survival, Social Networks, and the Rise of Christianity
JF Journal for the scientific study of religion
VO 58
IS 4
SP 775
OP 789
A1 Everton, Sean F.
A1 Schroeder, Robert
LA English
PB Wiley-Blackwell
YR 2019
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1686724098
AB In his book, The Rise of Christianity, Rodney Stark argues that the early Christian church indirectly benefitted from the plagues that struck the early Roman Empire in the 2nd and 3rd centuries of the Common Era. In particular, he argues that the early church's doctrines concerning love, charity, and social service would have led Christians to enjoy higher survival rates than pagans, which would have left the social networks of the former relatively intact, while those of the latter in disarray. Moreover, since recruitment to new religious movements occurs largely through social ties, the probability that an average pagan would have converted to Christianity would have been greater after the plagues than before. In this article, we use computer modeling to test Stark's hypothesis. Not only do we find support for his hypothesis, we also show that higher survival rates for either group not only would have benefitted their respective social networks but also would have benefitted their competitor's social networks, highlighting how network effects often flow in multiple and unexpected ways. We conclude with suggestions for future research, in particular how scholars can build upon our analyses and explore alternative assumptions.
K1 differential survival
K1 multiplexity
K1 network effects
K1 rise of Christianity
K1 Social Networks
DO 10.1111/jssr.12631