The religions of yesterday and today shared common dimensions that provide society with doctrine, narrative, ethics, ritual, experience and social institution . These six dimensions derived from Ninian Smart define the framework for the comparative study of religions1. All six dimensions are true when comparing everyday Roman religious thought to modern Christianity. At the heart of both cultures is a strong spirit of unification that has built a strong community bond between its people. For the Romans, their religion was the religion of the state. It is called state religion because for the Romans, their "state religion" had "ensured and could continue to ensure the preservation and prosperity of their state."2 Due to centuries of military domination and he military expansion of Rome, the state religion was almost self-perpetuated in Roman culture. As a function of the state, religion was protected and integrated into the heart of Roman daily life. As such, the vast majority of state officials were part of the priesthood of the state religion. Modern Christianity, however, is different in this regard. While the United States of America bases the majority of its legal principles on Judeo-Christian law, the United States Constitution guarantees that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."3 it there are therefore no functional “state religions”. , Christianity remains the dominant religion in the United States. The reach of Christianity in American society rests solely on its gospel and the teachings of the Bible. The state religion of Rome was polytheistic. The average Roman believed in several gods such as "environmental deities". The best known of all this multitude of god known as Olympus...... middle of paper ......tures derived from their religions is astonishing. The community bond brings together Christian and Roman communities during festivals, masses and other community activities. Although Christians and Romans shared a very similar cultural framework, their religious practices are clearly distinct. It is these practices of worship of multiple deities and separation of church and state that we see the contrasts of these two cultures putting them on a collision course. Even if we know which religion ends up usurping the other, it is still interesting to analyze these cultural differences. Works Cited1 Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience of Mankind (New York, 1969)2 Jo-Ann Shelton, As the Romans Did, page 3593 United States Constitution, First Amendment (Philidelphia, 1787)4 Jo-Ann Shelton, As the Romans Did did it, page 3615 Jo-Ann Shelton, As the Romans Did It, page 391