 The fourth chapter , " From Paganism to Christianity " , explores the continuing practice of ritual in Christian Europe . Discussing the early Roman Catholic Church 's <unk> of pagan deities , Merrifield states that the Church continued propagating a form of polytheism through the " cult of the blessed dead " , the veneration of saints and martyrs , throughout the Middle Ages . Discussing the ritual use of Christian relics , he also looks at votive offerings that were presented in a Christian context at shrines and churches , paying particular reference to the tradition of offering bent coins to shrines in Late Medieval England . Examining the construction of churches on earlier pagan ritual sites , he deals with evidence for the destruction of pagan statues by the early Christians . 
