I'm sure it was his point. If you follow your own reasoning, you'll find
why those thousand years were called "the dark ages" -- rather than
following the predicted exponential innovation line, innovations actually
*decreased* during that period as regards the age that preceded it. (I
almost cried when I read how close the ancients came to the steam engine!)
The cause(s), I'm sure, are many -- but I think it more than coincidental
that religion *ruled* the dark ages, myself.
ERiC