Before the spread of christianity gained momentum, leading to persecution of christians, the roman empire had traditionally been a place of religious tolerance.
true or false

This statement is false.

Explanation: Just to elaborate a little on the answer, it can be added that although the Romans tolerated and even honored many of the cults that were practiced throughout their vast empire, they also prohibited temporarily various religions and cults, particularly if they were judged to be threatening to the safety of the empire and did not agree with the idea of worshiping more than one god. For that reason, Judaism, Christianity, and cults to specific gods (Isis, Dionysus) were suppresed from time to time.