Emperor worship, that deification of man as the symbol of the state, was very seriously resented by the Jews and the early Christians and led directly to the bitter persecutions of both churches by the Roman government. [1]
The “national religions” are nothing more than a reversion to the early Roman emperor worship and to Shinto—worship of the state in the imperial family. [2] Pilate tried to regain this lost prestige an put on the walls the shields of the emperor, such as were commonly used in Caesar worship. [3]