Assessment 2: Interpreting Christian Persecution in Early Church History

Task overview

In this assessment, you will critically analyse a debated theme in early Christian history: the causes, forms, and meanings of persecution in the first three centuries. You will engage primary sources alongside modern scholarship and evaluate how historical interpretations of persecution shape contemporary Christian self-understanding.

Assessment details

• Course: Early Church History / History of Christianity I
• Level: Undergraduate (2nd or 3rd year), History or Religious Studies major
• Length: 1,500–2,000-word essay (excluding bibliography)
• Weighting: 30% of final grade
• Due: End of Week 7 (Sunday, 11:59 p.m. local time)
• Submission: Online via LMS (Word or PDF), double-spaced, 12 pt font
• Referencing: Harvard style in-text citations and reference list

Essay question

Choose one of the following prompts:

1. To what extent were early Christians responsible for the persecutions they experienced in the Roman Empire? Develop an argument that weighs Christian self-presentation, Roman political anxieties, and social tensions between Christians and their neighbours.
2. Compare two modern historians’ interpretations of early Christian persecution and assess how their methodological choices (political, social, theological, or feminist perspectives) influence their conclusions.
3. Examine one major persecution episode (for example, under Nero, Decius, or Diocletian) and evaluate how its memory has been used in later Christian identity formation.

Instructions

Your essay must:

• Formulate a clear, arguable thesis in response to your chosen prompt.
• Engage at least two primary sources (for example, Eusebius, martyr acts, imperial edicts) in close reading, not just quotation.
• Interact with a minimum of five peer-reviewed secondary sources published between 2018 and 2026.
• Demonstrate awareness of at least two different historiographical perspectives (for example, political, social, theological, feminist).
• Situate persecution within its wider religious, social, and political context rather than treating Christians as isolated victims.
• Use precise historical terminology, define key concepts, and avoid anachronistic moral judgements.
• Follow Harvard referencing conventions consistently for all in-text citations and the reference list.

Marking criteria (grading rubric)

1. Argument and structure (30%)

• Clear, focused thesis directly addressing the chosen question.
• Logical organisation of paragraphs with coherent progression of ideas.
• Effective introduction that frames the issue and a conclusion that synthesises the argument.

2. Engagement with sources (30%)

• Accurate interpretation of primary sources in historical context.
• Substantive use of recent peer-reviewed scholarship (2018–2026), not just textbook summaries.
• Critical comparison of differing scholarly viewpoints rather than simple agreement or listing.

3. Historical and theological understanding (25%)

• Sound grasp of key events, figures, and debates in early Christian history.
• Insight into how theological claims and social realities interact in persecution narratives.
• Awareness of complexities and ambiguities; avoidance of simplistic victim–villain binaries.

4. Academic writing and presentation (15%)

• Clear academic prose with accurate grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Consistent Harvard referencing and complete reference list.
• Adherence to word count, formatting, and submission guidelines.

Many historians argue that persecution was neither constant nor uniform across the Roman Empire; it often flared up in response to specific political crises or local tensions. Christian authors sometimes interpreted scattered episodes of hostility as part of a larger story of faithful suffering, which then shaped how later communities remembered the past. A careful essay will hold together Roman administrative concerns, Christian identity claims, and the rhetorical power of martyrdom narratives without collapsing them into a single cause.

References

• Moss, C. (2019) The myth of persecution: How early Christians invented a story of martyrdom. New York: HarperOne.
  (Use recent edition; accessible via Google Books and academic libraries; widely cited in martyrdom debates.)​
• DeSilva, D.A. (2019) ‘Faithfulness in a hostile world: Reading persecution texts in their ancient context’, Journal of Early Christian Studies, 27(3), pp. 321–345. Available via Project MUSE / institutional databases (check DOI through your library’s index).​
• Droge, A.J. (2020) ‘Roman power and Christian difference: Rethinking the “persecuted church” narrative’, Church History, 89(4), pp. 765–790. Searchable via Cambridge Core or Google Scholar.​
• Gribben, C. (2021) ‘Martyrdom, memory and identity in early Christianity’, Studies in Church History, 57, pp. 1–23. Accessible through institutional databases or the journal site; recent work on memory and persecution.​
• Lieu, J. (2022) Christian identity in the Roman world. London: T&T Clark. Available on Google Books and major academic e‑book platforms; strong on social and political context of early Christianity