Advanced Placement (AP) World History Practice Exam 2025 - Free AP World History Practice Questions and Study Guide

The correct answer highlights a significant challenge that early Christians faced, which was the Roman demand for worship of the emperor as a god. This issue was particularly acute for Christians because their monotheistic beliefs strictly prohibited the veneration of any other deities or figures apart from their own God.

This demand to worship the emperor was part of the broader Roman practice of imperial cult worship, which was seen as a unifying factor within the empire. Refusal to participate in this worship was not just a religious issue but also a political one; it was considered subversive and could lead to accusations of treason. As a result, Christians who resisted this practice often faced persecution, social ostracism, and harsh penalties, which hindered their ability to spread their faith and gain acceptance within the Roman world.

Other options do not accurately reflect the primary challenges Christianity faced during its early development as effectively as this one does. For example, while financial struggles among early Christians were certainly present, the inability to pay taxes does not encapsulate the systemic challenges to their faith and practice like the emperor worship did. Similarly, while Christians may have drawn connections to other monotheistic faiths, such as Zoroastrianism, it was the direct conflict with Roman