The Catholic Church had in the middle ages something that were called "indulgences" with which they would in a sense buy people's sins; you just bought the appropriate amount of indulgences and your sins were wiped away as the church was concerned.
Even today Christianity encourages good deeds against sins - which is not a bad in a practical sense.

I remember a scene from the last season of Da Vinci's Demons where christian prisoners were lined up and asked to embrace Islam, and either be killed or converted. It's interesting what people think that they would do in those moments. Would you die or make a pact with the devil, as the saying goes, just to fight another day.