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In these dark times, it is important to remember that the United States of America was founded during The Age of Enlightenment by some of the leading Enlightenment scholars of that time. One such "founding father" was Thomas Paine, better known for The Rights of Man and Common Sense - both sadly lacking in the 21st Century.
For those who, in Paine's own words "profess to believe" that the Founding Fathers of the United States intended that their country should be a Christian Nation, this oddment proves otherwise - at least for one of them. For Paine, faith and religion were intensely personal, and no business of the State, or of any other establishment.
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This oddment has been adapted from the 1794 edition, published in Paris for sale in England, and does not include the chapter headings which have been included in other online publications. It contains the first 12, introductory, pages of the published edition, concerning Paine's own faith and his views on established religion, cant, and hypocracy.
This article is not intended as, and should not be treated as, an academic text. There is no commentary or footnotes references, except where provided by the original author.
Illustation: Frontispiece of the 1794 edition of The Age of Reason. published by Barrois, Paris, France.
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To the best of my knowledge all rights to the content of works published in the Puddelbee Oddments edition of The Age of Reason, including illustrations, is in the public domain in all territories. Ownership to the particular layout and design of a specific publication is claimed by the publisher. Fair use, including non-commercial distribution and reproduction of the publication in electronic and printed form, is allowed with attribution to “The Puddelbee Company” as the source.