In the second chapter of Common Sense, Paine wrote: "Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness Positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices." Also, Paine's philosophy was also unusually critical, compared with the singers of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, in its uncompromising embrace of a non-theologically-based state order, a state based upon the concept of the author's beloved vale of reason. The value of reason vs. religious ideation was a popular concept during the Enlightenment amongst some European philosophers, but a controversial one on a mass level -- still, Paine was unafraid to advocate the idea of religious belief always being subordinate to political doctrines that could be justified through logic. This is important to remember when issues of religion are debated today, in the contemporary public discourse. It is interesting to remember Paine's rhetoric, and reflect that some of his ideas in criticism of religion would make the author 'unelectable' to higher office even today, when some profession of faith is usually required and demanded of contemporary politicians. In fact, one could even argue that the critical stance towards religion taken by Thomas Paine in "The Age of Reason" might suggest that religious faith was incompatible with the Revolutionary fervor, the type of zealous purist of the democracy of the masses for which Paine earlier gained fame....

Even the popular public Paine directed his persuasive attacks against Britain might counter that the Revolutionary spirit was harmonious with a devout religious faith, and that the nation had been founded to extract Americans from the tyranny of the Church of England and its monarchial beginnings and ostentation. This might be one reason that Paine, however, was more if not equally popular in France than he was in his native England, for his anti-religious ideas, as in France, atheism was more acceptable.
Even if one is a believer, it is difficult to disagree with Paine that to create a truly unique and 'American' nation, the American project of nationhood had to adopt a new and invigorating way of perceiving the common citizen. His words strike the reader's ear as 'sounding' radical even today, in their uncompromising simplicity and their directness, a stark contrast to today's political rhetoric. Not only is much his content about the extraordinary nature of American freedom and democracy, something that all Americans take as a truism today, but the strength of his convictions forces the reader as well to contemplate some of Paine's more radical views, still controversial today, and to adopt his candor and strength of conviction when discussing issues of contemporary political importance.

Works Cited

Paine, Thomas. "Common Sense." From the Health Anthology of American Literature. Paul Lauter, General Editor. 8th edition, Volume 1. New York: Houghton Mifflin.