What if Roman Paganism was codified and reformed into a centralized faith before Constantine comes into power ?

roman pagans burnt cities to the ground for their acts of human sacrifices

>rome literally has thousands of gods, many are personal gods that only one family prays too
>some are monotheistic, others polytheistic
>no clear theocratic class
Im pretty sure followers of sol invictus wouldn't want to be lumped with dionysus

Substantiate these claims please

Carthage

You know somehow I think that has more to do with Carrhae than Ceres.

You are wrong. Read Scipio Africanus

It was the Roman senate who voted to destroy Carthage, not Scipio.

As I said, It wasn't done in Jupiter's name, but pagan people were still violent. Let's not pretend that religious wars are really a bout religion. It's a way to grab land and power using god as an excuse. We can take their land and thats ok, they're infidels. God wills it.

I'm the rightful king because the Pope says so.

But your implication is that pagan peoples aren't violent conquerors and that's simply not true.

>Christians literally ARE PAGANS
specify, brainlet

germanics arent christians

At the urging of the Emperor Diocletian in 303 AD, the Flamines (head priests of of the Roman gods) convene to solidify and codify their religion and standardize beliefs across the Empire. The result is the Codex Sacrorum, the official and eternal document that outlines all recognized deities, imperial cults, the creation of the world and man, the struggles of the gods, the duties and rites of the priesthood, the list of all holy days in the Julian calendar, the Flaminian succession, and the treatment of infidels. It is made the official holy book of the Roman religion, and its distribution allows the religion to stay alive in the parts of the Empire still under their control. There's also limited amounts of proselytizing to Germanic tribes, but little success.

However, it is not enough to deter the rise of Christianity. Constantine still unites the Empire under Christianity, and Julian the Apostate represses it and restores paganism. Julian's attempts to further entrench paganism in the Empire leads to numerous temples being built, missionaries being sent, and Christians being persecuted. For the sake of it, let's assume that Julain doesn't die fighting the Parthians. He solidifies his power base, has a couple kids, and then dies a few decades later in a rather uneventful rule. Although his descendants retain control of the West, the Eastern Roman Empire remains under a Christian emperor. Constantinople ends up as the de facto center of Christianity, and the Patriarch of Constantinople has far more influence than the Bishop of Rome. There is never an official schism, though there are variances in belief between the Latin and Greek rites.

Inevitably, Rome does fall around the same time as OTL, and the Western Empire becomes taken over by Christianized Germanic tribes. This isn't really bemoaned by Christians, and is generally portrayed as the triumph of Christianity over the vestige of a darker time. This is essentially the death blow to a single unified Hellenistic Church. Like with Judaism after the fall of the Temple, there is a resulting Hellenic diaspora, and priests and followers alike scatter across Europe. Most religious groups evolve into cults devoted to the worship of a single god. The rest of history proceeds fairly similar to OTL, but the small Hellenistic sects and cults continue to be persecuted. Like Jews during the inquisition, they go underground or move to more isolated and autonomous parts of their home nations. As a result, there is a notable Hellenistic minority in regions like the Basque country, Brittany, Sardinia, etc. A good chunk also immigrate to the new world, especially into the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. As for Christianity, the Papacy and Patriarchate eventually combine into the Supreme Pontificate, which eventually ends up in Rome due to being forced out of Constantinople (oh, the irony). The majority of the upper Church hierarchy remains Greek, however.

With the 19th century and the Romantic era, Hellenism starts to come back into vogue. Several attempts are made to expand and revive the few remaining cults, with varying degrees of success. Though their success is rather limited in much of Europe (Italy and Spain aren't exactly renowned for their religious tolerance), it takes off as a fad in the US. They quickly become entwined with the Freemasons and several other fraternal societies, but is generally seen as a fringe movement in most of society. In terms of prejudice, most open Hellenists (especially immigrants) are treated like South European or Jewish newcomers (read: backwards) and incapable of assimilation unless they convert to Christianity.

In the 20th century, multiple fascist and nationalist groups latch on to the idea of a Hellenist resurgence, since Roman glory and all that. Benito Mussolini, and to a lesser extent, Franco and Metaxas (assuming they all exist in TTL), play up their "national heritage", with Mussolini establishing a national Shrine of Jupiter and appointing a Flamen Dialis. Plans for a Pantheon meant to surpass the first are drawn up and construction begins, but little progress is made beyond the foundations due to the beginning of World War II. After the war, Hellenism remains an officially recognized religion in Italy, and receives similar status in most of the world soon after. The second Pantheon is completed in 1959, albeit somewhat smaller than Mussolini's plan envisioned. The total Hellenistic population worldwide is slightly under one million. The United States has the highest population, followed by Italy, Spain, Greece, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, France, The United Kingdom, and Turkey. It receives little regard in terms of religious minorities outside of cities where they're prominent, and are generally regarded as about as influential as the Baha'i.

This is neat, thanks user.