The Atheist Roots of Modern Antisemitism: How Secularism Fueled Jew-Hatred

In a telling yet overlooked passage in Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — released in the revolutionary year of 1776 — we may discern the roots of antisemitism in the modern era.

Before explaining the rise of Christianity in the West, Gibbon, a British essayist and historian, traces the “intolerant zeal” of the Christian church to the Jews. Unlike the polytheistic faiths that accommodated themselves to Roman rule, he writes, the Jews insulted the “religious harmony” of the empire through their “jealous prejudices.” By this he means everything from Jewish dietary laws to their refusal to worship Caesar as a god.

About the Author

Joseph Loconte

Joseph Loconte is the director of The Rivendell Center in New York City and the author of The War for Middle-earth: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933–1945. He serves as a senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute and as the C.S. Lewis Scholar for Public Life at Grove City College. He is at work on a documentary film about the impact of war on the lives of Tolkien and Lewis.

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In a telling yet overlooked passage in Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — released in the revolutionary year of 1776 — we may discern the roots of antisemitism in the modern era.

Before explaining the rise of Christianity in the West, Gibbon, a British essayist and historian, traces the “intolerant zeal” of the Christian church to the Jews. Unlike the polytheistic faiths that accommodated themselves to Roman rule, he writes, the Jews insulted the “religious harmony” of the empire through their “jealous prejudices.” By this he means everything from Jewish dietary laws to their refusal to worship Caesar as a god.

About the Author

Joseph Loconte

Joseph Loconte is the director of The Rivendell Center in New York City and the author of The War for Middle-earth: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933–1945. He serves as a senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute and as the C.S. Lewis Scholar for Public Life at Grove City College. He is at work on a documentary film about the impact of war on the lives of Tolkien and Lewis.