Intellectual context: 18th-century British deism
Paine's book followed in the tradition of early 18th-century British deism. Those deists, while maintaining individual positions, still … See more

The Age of Reason is divided into three sections. In Part I, Paine outlines his major arguments and personal creed. In Parts II and III he analyzes … See more

The Age of Reason provoked a hostile reaction from most readers and critics, although the intensity of that hostility varied by locality. … See more

• Bindman, David. "'My own mind is my own church': Blake, Paine and the French Revolution." Reflections of Revolution: Images of … See more

In December 1792, Paine's Rights of Man, part II, was declared seditious in Britain, and he was forced to flee to France to avoid arrest. Dismayed by the French revolution's turn … See more

The most distinctive feature of The Age of Reason, like all of Paine's works, is its linguistic style. Historian Eric Foner argues that Paine's works … See more

• The American Crisis
• Common Sense
• Rights of Man, also written by Thomas Paine See more