For those who's aquantance with ancient Rome could be described as introductory, Wardman offers steeped insight to the relation of religion and the State. He paints with a relatively broad brush in order to span the Roman experience, but still manages to offer keen specifics to support his points of interest. As you make your way through the text, Wardman slowly demonstrates how the texture of Religion in Roman society shifted throughout the centuries of it domination. Most importantly, Wardman addresses the misconceptions put forth by prior scholars with regards to civic polytheism being replaced by monotheistic Christianity. He clearly demonstrates that the process has a clear precedence in Roman history and also revels the miscues of past historians who claimed that civic polytheistic 'faith' died out due to its inability to respond the the religious needs of individuals.