Question

Paine published Age of Reason in three parts in 1794, 1795, & 1807. How might the social and political climate in America change to allow a book of this nature to become an American bestseller?

Answer 1

The Age of Reason is a book written by the American philosopher Thomas Paine between the years 1794, 1795 and 1807. In this, Paine makes a criticism of the religious system inserted in America, affirming that the Bible as the governing book of social morality and the behavior of the individuals was not infallible, but contained errors of interpretation and contradictions; and categorizes as negative the presence of religion in political and governmental institutions, defending political secularism.

For American society to accept (not without controversy) the postulates of this book, the events of the American Revolution in the 1770s and 1780s had to pass. This revolution of liberal ideology was the one that put in check the political absolutism, the Anglican religious presence and other conservative postulates in America. If this revolution had not taken place, the Age of Reason would most likely not have been well received by the American population.