Despite the fact that the Roman Empire fell a few hundred years ago, since then, scientists have been trying to establish the reasons for the disappearance of the great state. One such researcher is Edward Gibbon, who established his own theory of the fall of Rome. According to him, the key role will be played not only by barbarians and physical strength, but also by the emergence of Christianity on the territory of Rome. Based on this, the author of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is sure that the emergence and promotion of Christianity is one of the primary reasons for the disappearance of the empire (Young & O’Brien, 2018). Despite the viability of this theory, it is difficult to agree with it for several reasons. Firstly, the author himself is rather biased in his analysis of the role of religion in the life of society. He several times during the course of his work compares the Romans with the Jews, in their zeal and attitude towards their own idols (Young & O’Brien, 2018). However, it is important to note that such a parallel has no scientific force, but is only a metaphor and analogy. Meanwhile, the analogy is not proof and this position is fundamental for science (Watts, 2021). In addition, the author ignores the internal politics of the state, in particular, corruption, which weakened the army and local government. This is primarily due to the lack of studies and documents to study.
It was this that contributed to the strengthening of the barbarian clans and alliances during the war with Rome. In other words, religion did not play a serious role in the fall of the state, but began to modify society, giving rise to new divisions. Thus, the contribution of religion is small, the same as other phenomena at that time, for example, cold days or rusting of iron on weapons (Watts, 2021). Of course, all these factors are the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire, but only in aggregate. The main prerequisites are economic and political problems in the overall system, where the most important reason is corruption.
References
Watts, E. J. (2021). The eternal decline and fall of Rome. Oxford University Press.
Young, B. & O’Brien, K. (Eds.). (2018). The Cambridge companion to Edward Gibbon. Cambridge University Press.