The stamp act, it is true, was repealed two years after it was passed; but it was immediately followed by one of infinitely more mischievous magnitude, I mean the declaratory act, which asserted the right, as it was styled, of the British Parliament, "to bind America in all cases whatsoever.
Paine highlights the dangers of the Declaratory Act, which he sees as a greater threat than the previously repealed Stamp Act.
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But as religion is very improperly made a political machine, and the reality of it is thereby destroyed, I will conclude this work with stating in what light religion appears to me.
I have no idea, considering the reforms which are now passing and spreading throughout Europe, that England will permit herself to be the last; and where the occasion and the opportunity quietly offer, it is better than to wait for a…
I do not believe that any two men, on what are called doctrinal points, think alike who think at all.
As to what are called national religions, we may, with as much propriety, talk of national Gods.