He was a deist, actually. From the beginning of the Age of Reason:
I believe in one God, & no more; & I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe in the equality of man; & I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavouring to make our fellow-creatures happy. But lest it should be supposed that I believe many other things in addition to these I shall, in the progress of this work, declare the things I do not believe, & my reasons for not believing them.
I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Turkish Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.
All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.
I do not mean by this declaration to condemn those who believe otherwise; they have the same right to their belief as I have to mine. But it is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe.
Thank you for making this video. I nearly lost my wits when I learned that Beck compared himself to Thomas Paine.
discoknox 2 years ago
We aim to please :)
dlcu38 2 years ago
He was a deist, actually. From the beginning of the Age of Reason:
I believe in one God, & no more; & I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe in the equality of man; & I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavouring to make our fellow-creatures happy. But lest it should be supposed that I believe many other things in addition to these I shall, in the progress of this work, declare the things I do not believe, & my reasons for not believing them.
dlcu38 2 years ago
I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Turkish Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.
All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.
dlcu38 2 years ago
I do not mean by this declaration to condemn those who believe otherwise; they have the same right to their belief as I have to mine. But it is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe.
dlcu38 2 years ago
While he did not like organised religion, I don't think it's fair to say he was not religious.
dlcu38 2 years ago
Thomas Paine was also not religious
ercvstr 2 years ago