What was the reason behind the persecution of Christians during the Roman Empire Around the 2nd century?

It is believed that the Roman people initiated the persecution of the Christians in the early Roman Empire because they were very superstitious. Roman religion was based largely on sacrifices and superstitious cult activities. They believed that participation in these activities would bring good luck and favor of the gods, but by not participating in these cult acts would adversely affect the Roman people in the way of divine intervention and punishment. Because the Christians refused to worship or sacrifice, they were persecuted by the Roman people. They believed that the Christians were the responsible for natural disasters. The Christians openly defied the Roman gods; Christians became the ultimate scapegoats.