How did Christianity go from a small persecuted sect to being the official religion of the empire? With something like Islam, its obvious that being the religion of the ruling class elite, it would have had considerable patronage leading to eventual conversion of the masses. But Christianity in the Roman Empire did not start out as the religion of the rulers. What factors led to the conversion of the masses despite persecution?
There is probably more to be said, but I cover some of the social factors that lead to the rise of Christianity here.