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What Role Did Religion Play In Common Sense By Thomas Paine

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America was founded on the principles of religious freedom and the interest of making money. Colonists came to the new world seeking freedom from the persecution that they faced in Europe. Even though the colonies later decided that making money is most important, religion was still engrained in the lives of the people. During the struggle for independence, many people were unsure about which side they should support. There were the people loyal to the king and people who supported independence. Included among these avid supporters was, Thomas Paine. In his pamphlet Common Sense, Paine recognized that people are receptive when it comes to religion, so he used stories from the Bible and the motif of good verses evil to gain their loyalty. He helped draw supporters for independence by appealing to the colonists religious ideals. …show more content…

Religion played a crucial role in Paine's argument. He knew that the most of colonists had some sort of religion that he can use as a basis for his argument. One of the points that he made was that a “distinction … of men into Kings and Subjects,” is not from god, it is from the “heathens,” (Paine, 72). Paine made sure to tell the readers that this interpretation is directly from the Bible so if anyone wanted to check for themselves they can. He supported many of the things he said from the Bible so that people would not question it. He used stories of how Israel wanted a king even though god himself did not want one to voice his opposition of the leadership of monarchy. The Bible was a major source that Paine used in order to unify the people under one cause. Before this essay people did not know who to side with, the new colonies or the monarchy, who they have who they have been loyal to until this point. Now Common Sense gives them a reason to support the

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