Was Judaism a popular religions in the Roman empire prior to Christianity?
Judaism was widely respected and Jews were generally free from persecution, in spite of a long history of rebellion and insurrection. Significant number of pagans, particularly in the eastern empire, were “God-fearers”. These were people who sought to worship all the gods for fear that, if they offended even one god, then calamity could befall them. Many “God-fearers” made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship the Jewish God, contributing quite significantly to the fortunes of the Temple and the prosperity of Judea.
