Hello,

In Greece rhetoric was used to move people away from religion, but in Christian Europe, rhetoric had found a new niche in preaching. For example, Augustine used oratory and written discourse to enhance his preaching and spreading of the gospel. In ancient Greece rhetoric is often blamed for the down fall of religion, where as now it was the main way to spread the gospel and the faith.

Another problem and difference is the lack of a wide spread use of rhetoric amongst the polis. Moving away from Greece, education of all classes in the use of rhetoric dropped off sharply and only gradually came back. The Roman empire eliminated the need for the polis to be able to voice their opinions, and therefore eliminated the need for rhetoric skills except amongst the upper class or government officials. Moving into Christian Europe this problem would improve, but only slightly as the use of rhetoric in the Christian faith became more and more important to members of the faith of the Holy Roman Empire.