The Age of Reason is a philosophical treatise written by the 18th Century British intellectual Thomas Paine, best remembered as the author of the political pamphlet Common Sense, credited with exciting colonial opinion in support of the American Revolutionary War.

The Age of Reason, written in parts during the 1790s and dealing in a systematic examination of organized religion, advocates a skeptical and rational examination of religion known as Deism. Paine stresses his belief in the oneness of God, and the "Word of God" as exemplified by nature and the exercise of reason. Thus, he rejects many of the tenets of both the Old Testament and New Testament. As he stresses: "I sincerely detest it, the Bible as I detest everything that is cruel." Paine provides not only criticism of religion, but a foundation for belief in a supreme being free of the confines of dogma.

Paine wrote the first part of the book in France during the first two months following his imprisonment in December 1793. Paine was in jail for protesting the execution of Louis XVI, so this first section was published in a French translation. After his release from prison in November 1794, at the urging of James Monroe, Paine wrote the second part. The completed work was published in 1795. Paine became extremely unpopular at the time due to this book and largely became a social pariah upon his return to America until his death in 1809. Yet his treatise became quite influential in the history of the skeptical, rationalist, and freethinking movements and remains one of the most persuasive critiques of the Bible and every other 'revealed religion' ever written. However, it is often ignored that central to this text is an argument in favor of the existence of a Creator, one based on reason as opposed to what one can argue are the various extreme modes of both religion and atheism.

Editions in print

• Citadel Press, 1948 and 1974, paperback, with biographical introduction by Philip Foner: ISBN 0806505494
• Prometheus Books, 1984 paperback: ISBN 0879752734
• Gramercy Press, 1993 hardcover: ISBN 0517091186

See also

• Deism
• "Jefferson Bible"
• List of banned books

External links

• Paine's The Age of Reason at thomaspaine.org
• Paine's The Age of Reason at deism.org
• Paine's The Age of Reason at ushistory.org
• Paine's The Age of Reason at rationalrevolution.net (including images)
• Paine's The Age of Reason from The University of Adelaide Library Electronic Texts Collection.
• Paine's The Age of Reason, paraphrased into modern English by Stephen W. Dowell

1795 books | Philosophy books | Deist texts | Books critical of Christianity | Banned books