Could all people read and write at the time of Christ?

Answer

The answer is no. For a very long time, literacy remains limited to a small group of educated people. Even today, there are many people worldwide who cannot read or write, because they do not have access to education or because the way their society is organized does not require it of them. This was also the case at the time of Christ. In the Roman Empire there was an intellectual and an administrative elite who could read and write. As far as administration is concerned, this was necessary to properly run the administration of such a gigantic empire. For this, laws had to be written, messages sent, etc. In addition, Roman culture also had a rich tradition of literature and poetry, but it was only the richest who could deal with this and send their children to school. However, for many people it was not necessary to be able to read and write. Simple workers, soldiers or peasants usually did not have time to deal with this and their children had to help in the production process as quickly as possible. Important laws and ordinances were promulgated orally in central places so that everyone was informed. Writing was even less important outside the Roman Empire, among the Celts and later the Germans. After the fall of the Roman Empire it takes more than 8 centuries before people start to attach great importance to the written word for administrative matters in our regions and even then it is only a very small minority of mainly clergy who can read and write.