Richard Carrier has a blog about the Dark Ages and Christianity. I tend to agree with him that Christianity was a big reason for the Dark Ages. As Christianity became the official religion of the soon ending Roman Empire, it bc the dominate religion in Europe. The teachings of Christ promoted an anti academic approach to life. It's easy to see how Christians discouraged the pursuit of knowledge with sayings like do not worry about tomorrow. Christianity is not the only reason for the Dark Ages., but to say it had no significant impact on the period is a bit misguided

It certainly appears that way - though I question if past dark ages have ever really ended ?

Europeans Dark Ages the Muslim golden age

The question is worthy of far deeper investigation. Religions don't like it when reason or apathy overtakes them.
Too late in the night for me to 'unpack' the sociological aspects as to why masses can be turned out to overthrow the intelligent but not the rich.

I think we're just witnessing the the last gasps of the fundamentalists lashing out.

I just read an article where there was a period in the dark ages that was actually 'dark'. It's speculated that in the year 536 there was a massive volcanic eruption in Iceland that threw so much ash into the atmosphere that it significantly dimmed the sunlight for a number of years.

THIS...right here.

I fear it because of the hate that we see in our country today; all of which have surrounded itself around the [self] righteous spewing discontent for other religions/cultures. Are there more of them than there are of us...yes. "Fake News" can last for centuries, and we live and walk amongst the products of such inflamed rhetoric.