Should religion be a matter of the state?

1. WHAT HE SAID (the record)

Record ledger

• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Paine believed that religion should not be a matter of the state. He argued that religious bodies, such as the Quakers, should not meddle in political matters, as politics is not their proper domain, and their involvement leads to confusion and unjust conclusions. "As you have, without a proper authority for so doing, put yourselves in the place of the whole body of the Quakers, so the writer of this, in order to be in an equal rank with yourselves, is under the necessity of putting himself in the place of all those who approve the very writings and principles against which your testimony is directed." [1]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Paine believed that religion should not be a matter of the state. He argued for universal liberty of conscience and stated that it is not the state's role to judge the religious rectitude of individuals, leaving such matters to a higher power. "We hold the pure doctrines of universal liberty of conscience, and conceive it our duty to endeavor to secure that sacred right to others, as well as to defend it for ourselves; for we undertake not to judge of the religious rectitude of tenets, but leave the whole matter to Him who made us." [2]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Paine believed that religion should not be a matter of the state, arguing that no earthly power can determine religious beliefs between individuals. He criticized the idea of an established church or state interference in religious matters, suggesting that such interference is presumptuous and unjust. (key quote above) [3]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Paine believed that the union of church and state produces harmful effects, including persecution and the loss of the original benign nature of religions. He argues that taking away the law-establishment allows religions to re-assume their original benignity, as seen in America. [4]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Paine believed that religion should not be a matter of the state, as he thought it was being improperly used as a political machine by the present ministry to distract the nation from subjects of government. "I am inclined to believe, that what is called the present ministry, wish to see contentions about religion kept up, to prevent the nation turning its attention to subjects of government." [5]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Paine believed that national religions are improper and should not be a matter of the state, as they are either political craft or remnants of pagan systems. He argues that each nation having its own deity is flawed. "As to what are called national religions, we may, with as much propriety, talk of national Gods." [6]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Paine believed that the Bible is not the Word of God and criticized the authority of the Church of Rome in introducing it as such. He argued that people should have the right to their own opinions about religion, and that ecclesiastical tyranny is not admissible in the United States. (key quote above) [7]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Paine believed that there are religious establishments for public worship that do not make a profession of faith in the books called holy scriptures, nor admit of priests. He supports this by describing the Theophilantropists, a society that does not rely on traditional religious scriptures or priesthood. "I will conclude with an account of a society lately begun in Paris, and which is very rapidly extending itself." [8]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Paine believed that religion should not be a matter of the state. He argued that pure and simple deism, which he considered the only non-invented religion with divine originality, does not serve the purposes of despotic governments, and that the connection between church and state arises from human inventions and the interests of both governments and priests. "It is this that forms the otherwise mysterious connection of church and state; the church human, and the state tyrannic." [9]
• BELIEF (undated): Thomas Paine believed that a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revolution in the system of religion, leading to a return to a pure belief in one God. This is based on his stated expectation in the passage. "he saw the exceeding probability that a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revolution in the system of religion" [10]

What cuts against it

• ACTION (undated): Thomas Paine declined to publish his theological writings in full upon arriving in America due to the disrepute of liberal opinions on religion and the influence of hypocrisy and superstition. [11]

• ACTION (undated): Thomas Paine wrote to show that the Bible is not the Word of God and that it is an anonymous book with no authority for being called the Word of God. [7]

2. HOW IT APPLIES (reasoning; inference is marked)

1. Thomas Paine believed that no earthly power, including kings, bishops, churches, or states, should intervene in the relationship between the soul of man and its Maker. (key quote above) [3]

2. He argued that the union of church and state leads to persecution and the loss of the original benign nature of religions. "By engendering the church with the state, a sort of mule-animal, capable only of destroying, and not of breeding up, is produced, called the Church established by Law." [4]

3. Paine believed that taking away the law-establishment allows religions to re-assume their original benignity, as seen in America. [4]

4. He criticized the idea of an established church or state interference in religious matters, suggesting that such interference is presumptuous and unjust. [3]

5. Paine believed that the Bible is not the Word of God and criticized the authority of the Church of Rome in introducing it as such. (key quote above) [7]

3. HIS TAKE

Record coverage: PARTIAL

The record is silent on whether Thomas Paine would support or oppose specific modern state policies regarding religion, such as the separation of church and state in contemporary legal frameworks. However, his stated principles suggest a strong opposition to any state interference in religious matters.

Extrapolation: Thomas Paine would likely oppose any state policy that establishes or endorses a particular religion, as he believed that religion should be free from state control and that the union of church and state leads to persecution and moral decay.

Competing readings: One reading is that Paine's opposition to state interference in religion is consistent with his broader principles of liberty and individual rights. Another reading is that his views may have been influenced by the specific historical and political context of his time, which may not directly apply to modern state policies. The record itself supports the first reading.

Confidence: High, based on the consistent and detailed statements in his writings against the union of church and state and in favor of religious freedom.