How come Christianity appeared out of nowhere in the fourth century with so little tolerance for non-believers, compared to older religions?
It is possible that they simply carried on, what was there before.
Step 1. The Romans think it is a great idea to have everyone make sacrifices to the emperor. It is not a controversial idea at the time. A lot of people of most religions made sacrifices to different entities, so why not to the emperor? It was simply a way of keeping the country together, like when British MPs have to swear allegiance to the queen, or when Americans salute their flag, or when Danish immigrants have to perform a test to prove their knowledge of the country, before they can become citizens.
Step 2. The Christians, when they appear, think step 1 was not that great an idea. Their religion stipulates that there is only one god, and that is not the emperor.
Step 3. Christians of all different kinds of beliefs are occasionally prosecuted by the Romans, because of step 2.
Step 4. Within a few decades during the 4th century, Christians discover that theirs has become a state religion. But in step 3, the idea of religious prosecution had appeared. The Christians, now in power, use this concept to hit back at non-Christians, tit for tat. They do not initiate it. They just do not break the habit.
Besides, not tolerating non-believers turned out to be a winning strategy, something other religions have learnt later on.
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