 Most pagans sought religious affiliations that were unique to their culture and people, and they had internal divisions that prevented them from creating any one ‘pagan religion.’ Indeed, the term pagan was simply a convenient appellation for Christians to lump together the believers of a system they opposed.In truth, there was no Roman religion, as modern observers would recognize it.Instead, paganism came from a system of observances that one historian has characterized as “no more than a spongy mass of tolerance and tradition.”

This system of tradition had already shifted dramatically by the time Julian came to power; gone were the days of massive sacrifices honoring the gods.