Did Constantine Really Convert?

The conversion of Emperor Constantine to Christianity is often suggested as a turning point in the history of the religion - but would Christianity have continued on its upward trajectory without this conversion? Was Constantine’s conversion one of genuine religious conviction, or was it motivated by something else? Has his conversion been co-opted and over-emphasized by later Christian authors?

Today, Megan asks Bart about:

-What was the position of Christianity prior to Constantine’s conversion? Was it outlawed, its adherents persecuted, or simply unpopular?

-What do we know about Constantine’s religion prior to his conversion?

-Do we know what kind of exposure Constantine had to Christianity earlier in his life?

-Do we know if he participated in the suppression of Christianity during his early military and political career?

-What did conversion mean to someone coming from a pagan background?

-Constantine claimed that his conversion was a result of religious visions he experienced while marching his army to Rome. What sources do we have for these visions - and exactly how many visions did he have?

-Why do you think we have differing accounts of his conversion? Did Constantine’s story change throughout his life, or is the story being altered to suit the aims of the writers?

-What was the impact of Constantine’s conversion on the trajectory of Christianity, and what do you think would have happened had he not converted?

-Given the size of the empire, and the difficulties with communication, how aware would people in the empire have been of Constantine’s conversion?

-Finally, the big question: without a time machine, it’s hard to say for sure, but do you think that Constantine’s conversion was genuine?

[bartdehrman]

Hey all - it's Chris Huntley, producer of the show, writing for Bart. We are aware of an editing issue we had on this episode wherein Megan appears to interrupt Bart repeatedly. This was actually not the case in the real-life interview. We all know Megan to be a respectful host. Instead, it was an editing goof initiated by the timing being off in the recordings. We have identified the problem and assure you it won't happen again. If you'd like to listen to the episode, you can do so on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, etc. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience.

[ABLovescrafting]

The interruptions were a throw back to the era of when talking long distance, we would get time delay between speakers and we'd end up talking over eachother. So Weird... But very good, interesting interview! Thank you!

[RandiRain]

All that temperature talk at the beginning really hurt. I'm in Texas, it's currently 107 degrees Fahrenheit here. It only gets down to the high 80s at night. If you go outside, you'll die.

[RomanPhilosopher]

Megan's glasses are like eye magnets. I can't look at anything else. Where do you even get spectacles like those?

[silviu-georgepantelimon]

The more I listen to this podcasts the more I get angry that I was lied to in school (in Romania they teach religion in public schools, it's a bad situation), there I was taught that Constantine and his mother were 100% certainly christians and that Elena was the sole reason Constantine became christian and that he was baptized on his deathbed because he feared repercussions if he declared himself that. Thank you Bart and Megan for correcting the false information that I had to learn in school, it makes much more sense hearing a scholarly perspective than takes into account multiple sources without personal biases. Also, on a side note, I love how stylish Megan is, especially her glasses. She and Josh are the best looking couple I know.

[Theomatikalli]

Please don't fire the editor.. it was fun getting miniature heart attacks from Megan's interruptions 😂

[bigtex]

In your quest for the Holy Grail did you encounter The Knights that go NEE!?

[Jason-wx]

Very much enjoy this series, but I have a complaint about the new editing. The prompt/question > response > prompt/question "dead air" has been edited out, or Megan has started asking the next question before Bart has actually finished speaking. This one seems to have been edited more like movie dialogue. However, the material requires a natural, brief breather to absorb before moving on to the next question. I'd appreciate a return to the less snappy rate if possible for better retention.

[NoWay]

Bart's video background remover makes him look like ghost Obi Won Kenobi in Star Wars.

[ab.boskany]

Great conversation, Megan’s question is very intelligent and helps further understand Bart’s intelligent talks. Thank you. 🌺

[MichaelYoder]

Despite the glitches (s**t happens), I always look forward to these episodes. Megan and Bart have great rapport and it's always informative and easy to understand. My only issue with this one was problems with Bart's green screen - unless he usually has appearing and disappearing hands and a halo - lol (maybe HE'S a god). Thanks!!!

I used to listen to the show in my Podcast app so I've never seen before how awesome are Megan's glasses!

[kylelloyd]

Megan is a great host and I'm glad she's here! Great episode!

[RomanPhilosopher]

Please do an episode on Marcion's Gospel vs Luke and his apostolikon vs canonical paul! Love this podcast!

[zapkvr]

You mention the Der Vinci code a lot but you are aware that his book was a direct lift from the earlier tome by Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln "The holy blood and the holy grail" in 1982. The authors were the first to popularise the myth even though they never made nearly as much money off it.

[aleccrippa]

Recent archeological evidence in Spello, Italy, shows that after his "conversion" Constantine allowed a community in Italy to hold an annual religious festival in their town under the condition that they erected a temple in honor of his divine ancestors, the Flavians. The temple has just been found.

[adavis]

I wrote a novel that I never published, with a historical backstory that Constantine sided with Arius, with the result that in the early 700s, Europe was more easily converted to Islam, and later, the New World was populated by a variety of Christian refugees.

[nickscurvy]

This is an exciting episode. Ive heard entirely contradictory things even from the same author about the question of Constantines conversion. But ive hever seen someone really talk about it in depth.

[Sphere]

Wow. I'm more into Roman history than early Christian history, and Bart nailed it here. Very good summary of the different sources and the overall narrative. He left out a couple things though.

The Chi-Rho symbol had pre-Christian meaning (something akin to "good", like a modern use of a plus or checkmark) so it's first use by Constantine was likely ambiguous, and maybe deliberately so. Constantine was in the middle of taking Italy where the local population was notably more Pagan/anti-Christian than his home area of Gaul. It's plausible that it's use in the moment was inclusive to both Sol Invictus and Christianity, and the explicit reference to Christ was a later re-telling after he secured power and converted.

Also, Constantine passed a law forcing the return of Christian property seized during the persecutions without compensation for the current owners. This would have been well know to local people across the Empire.

[RobertJones-etgh]

I’m surprised nothing was said about earlier origins of the Chi-Rho (Kai-Rowe), coming from from Ptolemy III, about 500 years before Constantine’s Chi-Rho. Or did I miss something???