The Age of Reason Church

Who We Are

Awakening the Universal Spirit

For over 250 years, the great ideas of the Enlightenment have been frozen in place by institutions too threatened to let them thaw. Thomas Paine was their loudest and most fearless voice. The Age of Reason Church exists to finish what he started. The thaw is long overdue.

We are a community devoted to fostering individual understanding and reflection on the nature of the Creator, grounded not in scripture or doctrine, but in reason, nature, and truth as discerned through honest inquiry and intellectual integrity.

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Awaken the Spirit

Invigorate the universal human spirit buried beneath centuries of superstition and dogma.

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Connect to Nature

Use the knowledge gained from humanity's discoveries to establish an authentic connection to the laws of nature and the universe.

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Heal & Restore

Offer victims of church abuse and indoctrination a safe, honest place to regain their spiritual footing.

Explore

Go Deeper

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Great Americans

The freethinkers, deists, and skeptics who built this nation and carried the torch of reason through history.

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Lost Together

We make no claim to ultimate answers. But being lost together — with courage and wonder — is its own kind of light.

Our Founding Influence

Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine was a political philosopher, revolutionary, and freethinker whose 1794 work The Age of Reason challenged organized religion and championed the deist belief that God is best understood through reason and the natural world — not through scripture or clergy.

"My own mind is my own church."

Paine argued that religion, as constructed by human institutions, was designed to enslave the mind rather than liberate it. Deists like Paine, Voltaire, Jefferson, and Franklin held that the Creator is revealed through observation of the natural world — not revealed texts. They valued free thought, the separation of church and state, and the sovereignty of the individual conscience.

"It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry."

Our Philosophy

Richard's Reversal

Pascal's Wager argues that one should believe in God out of self-interest — because the potential reward of heaven outweighs the cost. Richard's Reversal turns this argument on its head.

The Principle

At the Age of Reason, we hold that belief in the divine should stem from authentic conviction, not from fear of punishment or hope for reward. A faith adopted for strategic, self-interested reasons is not genuine faith — it is spiritual theater.

Richard's Reversal challenges us to embrace doubt as a virtue, and to seek truth through reason. Genuine connection to the divine must be free from ulterior motives. The moment belief is calculated, it ceases to be belief at all.

We encourage all members to explore their convictions with courage and honesty, fostering a community where reason leads to enlightenment — not where fear leads to conformity.

A Kindred Voice

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson — author of the Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and lifelong deist — believed that reason, not revelation, was the path to understanding the divine. He famously created his own version of the Bible, stripping it of miracles and supernatural claims, leaving only the moral teachings of Jesus as a philosopher.

"Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear."

Jefferson's words are among the most powerful ever written in defense of free inquiry. To question boldly — even the most sacred assumptions — is not blasphemy. It is the highest form of intellectual honesty. It is the very foundation upon which the Age of Reason Church is built.

"I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

A Founding Freethinker

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin — scientist, inventor, diplomat, and Founding Father — was one of history's most pragmatic deists. He believed in a Creator who could be understood through reason, observation, and the natural world, not through doctrine or revelation. He was a close friend of Thomas Paine and one of the first to recognize his genius, giving Paine the letters of introduction that brought him to America.

"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."

Franklin famously proposed a prayer at the Constitutional Convention — not out of orthodox faith, but out of a pragmatic belief that some acknowledgment of a higher intelligence could unite the delegates. Yet he never aligned himself with any church or denomination. His God was the God of nature, of electricity, of the printing press — a God discovered through curiosity, not commanded through fear.

"Lighthouses are more useful than churches."

From Our Founder

A Message from Richard

Hear directly from Richard C. Mayhue — founder of the Age of Reason Church — on what inspired this community and why its message matters now more than ever.

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VIDEO COMING SOON

Join Us

Become a Member

Membership is open to all individuals who embrace the principles of deism, humanism, rational inquiry, and ethical conduct. We welcome questioners, doubters, seekers, and anyone who has felt their spiritual journey deserved better than what they were handed.

Community

Monthly meetings open to all members — study, dialogue, and genuine human connection grounded in reason.

Healing

A safe and honest space for those recovering from church abuse, trauma, or religious indoctrination.

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Inquiry

Educational programs, philosophical discussion, and the freedom to ask questions you were told not to ask.

Governance

A member-informed Board of Directors ensures the church remains transparent, ethical, and mission-driven.

Ready to Begin Your Inquiry?

We don't ask you to believe anything. We only ask that you think — honestly, courageously, and freely.