Thomas Paine (OLLI, Spring 2026)
Spring 2026
(Six Weeks: Thursdays, 2-4, March 26-April 30)
Reuter Center 205 & Zoom
Thomas Paine: Religion and Revolution
Course Description
As the nation commemorates 250 years since it declared independence, one freethinker continues to inspire independent minds, particularly concerning religion. Thomas Paine fired up two revolutions: the creation of a new secular form of government, and the birth of a new sensible form of religion based on reason.
Through lectures, discussions and readings (provided by the instructor), we will get to know Paine as a major voice of Freethought, and listen for what he might say about religious liberty today.
Week One
Paine Arrives in America (Conway)
Development of Freethinking Religious Views
Pennsylvania Magazine and the Radical Quaker
Week Two
Ingersoll: “THOMAS PAINE. With His Name Left Out, the History of Liberty Cannot be Written.”
Week Three
Science, Deism and Christianism (The Age of Reason)
Week Four
Thomas Jefferson on Thomas Paine (Monticello)
Paine and the Creation/”Word of God”
The Age of Reason (Creation as “Word of God”)
The Age of Reason (Outline, continue)
Week Five
Prospect Papers (Defense of Deism)
War, and the Rights of Humankind
Thomas Paine on Slavery (John Adams Institute)
Religious Liberty (BJC)
Madison on Religion as a Political Faction
Jefferson and Madison on Religious Domination
Religious Freedom and the Ten Commandments
Week Six
Thomas Paine Memorial Association
Excerpts from Agrarian Justice
World Citizen, Painful (Kaye)
Questions Paine Presents for Us
“The Bones of Thomas Paine” (The Freethought Society)
Paine’s Revolutions for Today. . . .
Shocking the minds of children. . .
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Other Resources:
Thomas Paine and George Washington (Mount Vernon)
Friendly Freethinker 