The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

A frequent criticism of Edward Gibbon since his own lifetime is that he is critical of Christianity. Although it is not entirely accurate to say that Gibbon blames the fall of the Roman Empire on the rise of Christianity alone, Gibbon does bring to The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire a skeptical Enlightenment view of religion.

For Gibbon, the ideal form of religion is one that allows for intellectual freedom and focuses more on ethical and social matters than metaphysical debates. In one of the most famous passages from The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gibbon states, “The various modes of worship which prevailed in the Roman world were all considered by the people as equally true; by the philosopher as equally false; and by the magistrate as equally useful” (28). Even at its best, Gibbon remarks that religion rarely lives up to its ideals, since it is so often tied to the agenda of secular rulers. Cynically, Gibbon writes, “The influence of the clergy, in an age of superstition, might be usefully employed to assert the rights of mankind; but so intimate is the connexion between the throne and the altar, that the banner of the church has very seldom been seen on the side of the people” (59).