By Judah Freed
The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine had “democratic consequences,” said Dr. Daniel Gomes de Carvalho, Professor of Modern History at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
In a February 15 talk at the Paine Memorial Building in New Rochelle, Dr. Carvalho said, “By criticizing the adulterous connection between church and state, by demonstrating the impossibility of the Bible being the word of God, and by proposing the equality of all creatures before God, Paine had devastating effects on the governments using religion to maintain hierarchies and oppression.”
As a result of Paine, he said, “The question of democracy was at the heart of religious debate at the time.” These same debates continue today.
Livestreaming on Zoom from the Memorial Building, the program signals growing global reach for the Thomas Paine Historical Association.
Daniel Carvalho earned a doctorate from the University of São Paulo in 2017. He then served as a professor in the University of Brasília Graduate Program in Ideas. He is the author of Thomas Paine and the French Revolution (Editora Paco, 2023).