Purpose Of Roman Religion

For Romans, religion was a force that bound families together, bound subjects to their ruler and bound men to the gods. Roman religion was divided into two divisions. Spirits watched over people, families and households, and the husbands/fathers family was in charge of the domestic worship that honored them. Romans also had a set of community gods, such as Jupiter and Mars. State worship was more official: groups of priests paid acknowledgement to these gods on behalf of Rome itself. The objective of Roman worship was to increase the sanctions of the gods and thereby gain prosperity for themselves, their families and societies. Rulers understood the vital significance of religion to the lives of the Romans and used it for their own ends. Augustus