Catholicism had a negative impact on theatre during the latter years of the Roman Empire. Theatrical productions declined during the 2nd century, and Christians played a significant role in its demise. The theatre of the time had mocked the emerging church, and it struck back by proclaiming theatre arts evil and immoral. Once gladiator spectacles became the popular form of entertainment, theatre was used to enhance games. Theatre was almost non-existent, but for a few traveling jugglers and performers that barely kept this art form alive.
Catholicism spread throughout Europe around 1000 A.D., and it encountered many pagan festivals and celebrations. Church leaders used pagan festivals as events to instruct people about Christianity. Mystery Plays were soon introduced --- dramatizations of the Old and New Testaments and Catholic Saints. Authors of Mystery Plays mixed truth and legend for their performances, and they also put on passion plays about Christ. Mystery Plays could last for many days or weeks. Hundreds of actors were used for the shows, and there were alternating choirs who sang liturgical music. Actors had thousands of lines to remember, and many of them had to be available for extended performances. Even though mystery plays were primarily religious, some of them allowed actors to perform comedy and secular dramatization.
Presentations about the battle between God and the Devil over the souls of men became a common theme as theatre began to develop. Around 1400 A.D. this type of performance was common, and so were Saint Plays, which showed dramatic performances of the lives of martyred Catholic Saints. Drama was the dominant method of acting for most of these types of plays, but comedy was slowly starting to enter the picture. Many church performers were moving toward more extravagant performances and the theatre was developing into newer styles. People heard about the seriousness of God and religion for hundreds of years and they wanted other forms of theatrical entertainment.
Folk Dramas and Moral Interludes were two styles of performances that both used humor and didn't rely so much on the heavy religious themes. Folk Dramas told stories about the lives of common people, and Moral Interludes were short performances that dealt with moral dilemmas in a humorous way. Each of these styles of dramatizations reflected how people were steering away from the heavy influence of religion and toward a humanistic approach in life. These changes were a reflection of the people, who were moving beyond religion as the only means to define their world.