The idea that the "dark ages" (they weren't dark), the political/economic/etc. fracturiing of rome, was Christianity's fault is one of those really big red flags that people dont know what they're talking about tbh

It's by way of Christendom that ANYTHING survives of Rome, aside from some ruins, practically speaking.

Christendom preserves the language Christendom preserves a ton of the pagan culture. Not on purpose, of course, but just because the Catholic church is and was itself an institution of Rome itself. Catholicism is like, if the united states collapsed but inexplicably the judiciary carried on and continued to make rulings for 1500 years. Christianity was converted into a state religion, so it took on the shape of the dominant culture.

The dark ages as a concept aren't real. There was political upheaval in europe, but the caliphates of the Islamic world were going through a golden age. China, India, etc. were all going through entirely different situations and knowledge production didn't cease for a moment.

Count me among those who are fascinated with and loves learning about rome, but absolutely hates rome as a polity. Evil ass motherfuckers. Absolutely evil. The parts the United States lowkey exalt is actually the monstrous nightmare that was the Roman state enforcing its power. The sheer cruelty and brutality of Rome, spread across millennia... wretched evil.