"The whole religious complexion of the modern world is due to the absence from Jerusalem of a lunatic asylum"

Thomas Paine’s statement, “The whole religious complexion of the modern world is due to the absence from Jerusalem of a lunatic asylum", is a sharp, satirical critique of the origins and development of major monotheistic religions that trace their roots to Jerusalem, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Paine, a pivotal figure in the Enlightenment and a staunch critic of institutionalized religion, often challenged the rationality and societal influence of traditional beliefs. Here, his choice of words conveys a profound skepticism about the founders and early prophets of these religions, implying that what became systems of global influence and reverence may have, in his view, arisen from the eccentricities or delusions of individuals who went unchecked.

By invoking the imagery of a “lunatic asylum,” Paine suggests that those who claimed divine inspiration or prophethood might, under other circumstances, have been regarded not as visionaries but as mentally ill individuals in need of care or confinement. The absence of such an institution in Jerusalem, the birthplace of so many religious movements, is posed as the reason their ideas gained traction, rather than being contained or dismissed by society. Behind the witticism lies Paine’s deep conviction that many religious beliefs stem more from human imagination, fear, or mental aberrations than from reason or demonstrable truth.

Furthermore, the quote indicts the way societies validate, spread, and embed religious doctrines, hinting at the role of social structures and historical contingencies in turning personal visions or peculiarities into widespread faiths. Paine is essentially exposing the paradox that ideas considered prophetic or divinely inspired in one historical context might be regarded as madness in another. Ultimately, his satire is directed less at the sincerity of individual visionaries and more at the collective readiness to accept uncritical faith, challenging readers to examine religious origins with rational rigor rather than blind veneration or dogma.