Peter Brown’s scientific contributions

... Even if in certain eastern provinces pagan shrines were demolished by Christian zealots, generalization of this practice to the entire territory of the Roman Empire is not justified especially since the pagan religion survived for centuries (Brown 1998). But even if it is unconditionally accepted, it cannot be explained why ancient columns, especially in important pagan cult centers, remained standing next to Christian basilicas. ...

Reference:

Monumental articulated ancient Greek and Roman columns and temples and earthquakes: archaeological, historical, and engineering approaches