>>18529197
Probably did, given the story of his vision. There's not much reason to believe in the god of a minor religion within your empire that all previous emperors and current government have denounced unambiguously. He also did things he didn't have to as a believer, like organize councils to systematize the religion. Christianity would not become the official religion until much later in the Byzantine Empire anyway, so there wasn't much incentive to moderate councils of babbling patriarchs and bishops, but he did it anyway.

>>18529197
>>18529728
He believed it. Even before his formal conversion, he banned gladiatorial games, backed efforts to protect orphans/suppress infanticide, ended crucifixion, supported a rest day on Sunday. Constantine’s struggle it seems became more of how to balance his own Christian faith with a still largely Pagan Rome. Subsequently, the slow transition.

>>18529197
If anything he was Christian that pretended to be a Pagan for political power. I do wonder if he at any point in his life genuinely believed in Sol Invictus or was always using the general confusion many at the time had believing Sol Invictus and Christ to be the same person.
>Even some Christians think it is so proper to do this that, before entering the blessed Apostle Peter’s basilica … they turn round and bow themselves towards the rising sun and with bent neck do homage to its brilliant orb.
Either to smooth over his relations with his Pagan subjects or to garner support from Christians that thought they were the same person. I doubt he believed them to be same, considering he had ample access to best priests and theologians of the time.

>>18529197
The empire was slowly falling apart and while Christianity was a minority religion in the empire overall, it was very dominant in the eastern parts and kept gaining more and more followers.
By adopting it he filled the vacuum in the empire for one single unifying state religion. Trying to convert the Christians back to a pagan state religion would have never worked (I believe some emperors tried). If you can't beat them, join them.

>>18529951
>The empire was slowly falling apart
The empire at its most powerful since the mid 2nd century was falling apart?

>>18529197
Probably at the start of his reign he was simply a generic solar monotheist with a sympathy for Christianity (probably a family tendency, given his father Costant too imposed only very mild prohibitions on Christians in his domains even at the peak of the Diocletzian persecution). In the second half of his reign he became 100% Christian in belifes, while keeping his traditional tollerance for all faiths

>>18529951
Costantine in the first half of his reign only ruled the western empire tho, where Christianity was a lot less powerfull. He didnt took control of the more Christian east until he disposed Licinius in the 20s, when coincidentiality he went full Christianization of the whole state

>>18529197
He believed in it. His mother (St. Helena) was Christian and instilled in him Christianity.

>>18529197
They all saw the Chi Rho

>>18529197
We literally have a text in which he debunks paganism
>Whatever has had a beginning, has also an end. Now that which is a beginning in respect of time, is called a generation: and whatever is by generation is subject to corruption, and its beauty is impaired by the lapse of time. How, then, can they whose origin is from corruptible generation, be immortal? Again, this supposition has gained credit with the ignorant multitude, that marriages, and the birth of children, are usual among the gods. Granting, then, such offspring to be immortal, and continually produced, the race must of necessity multiply to excess: and if this were so, where is the heaven, or the earth, which could contain so vast and still increasing a multitude of gods?

>>18530625
>infinite gods is illogical
>one infinite god is logical
How does this make sense?

>>18530625
>debunks paganism
Plato, Aristotle, Proclus, Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus all called, they want their pagan philosophy back that your religion stole and took credit for. The entire mystical vocabulary in Christianity was lifted word for word from the works of pagan Platonist philosophers in Athens, the 6th century CE.

>>18529741
>banned gladiatorial games
He was a cuckold

>>18529951
Actually they had recover from the crisis of the third century before Constantine

>>18529197
Why would he think a religion followed primarily by commoners, slaves, and women in the Eastern Mediterranean would give him more political power when his power base was centered in Gaul and Iberia?

>>18530829
He was retarded and likely had autism

>>18530777
>Wanting rigged play matches instead of Chad chariot races with real stakes.

>>18529197
>>18530829
It came to him in a dream

>>18529728
>He also did things he didn't have to as a believer, like organize councils to systematize the religion.
Of the things you could have used that one is the most politically flavored since it centralized the administration of the church and tied it to the imperial throne

It would have been a really shit and retarded way to gain power, because Christians had effectively zero influence and were a tiny minority of the population.

So yeah, he obviously had some kind of life changing experience.

It helped that he was raised in the one part of the Empire where Christian persecution was not actively enforced, so that was always in his mind.

>>18530779
They literally never recovered from that crisis.

The demographic decline of the Roman empire was set in stone because of those apocalyptic civil wars. They basically depopulated entire regions.

>>18532092
The answer is that Constantine was a retard who likely had autism. His dumbass mother was a Christian and that is where he got his Christian sympathies from

>>18532094
They were on the way to recover from it before Constantine restarted the decline.