TO MY FELLOW-CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

I PUT the following work under your protection. It contains my opinions upon Religion. You will do me the justice to remember, that I have always strenuously supported the Right of every Man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it.

The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is Reason. I have never used any other, and I trust I never shall.

Your affectionate friend and fellow-citizen,

THOMAS PAINE

Luxembourg, 8th Pluviose,

Second Year of the French Republic, one and indivisible.

January 27, O. S. 1794.

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Chicago: Thomas Paine, "Preface to Part 1," Age of Reason Original Sources, accessed April 11, 2025, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=FWATPVJYIWAAUJA.

MLA: Paine, Thomas. "Preface to Part 1." Age of Reason, Original Sources. 11 Apr. 2025. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=FWATPVJYIWAAUJA.

Harvard: Paine, T, 'Preface to Part 1' in Age of Reason. Original Sources, retrieved 11 April 2025, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=FWATPVJYIWAAUJA.