A line written by
Thomas Paine in his political work
Rights of Man (
not Age of Reason, as many people believe). It's often quoted in a somewhat different form, as, "The world is my country, and to do good is my religion"; possibly because
Robert Ingersoll quoted it that way (probably without checking the source), but it could have simply become popularized that way because, frankly, it sounds better.
Explanation
"My country is the world..."
Paine indeed seemed to see himself as a '
citizen of the world'. He argued against the
slavery of
Africans in
America on purely
moral (rather than
religious) grounds; though whether he believed in
racial equality is a matter open for debate. When
the French Revolution broke out, Paine became a vocal supporter of it, and even became a
representative in the
National Assembly. Despite this, Paine was not a
zealot of the revolutionary movement; he even argued unpopularly against the
execution of the royalty, which landed him in the
Bastille and nearly caused his own execution at
Robespierre's command. Paine was certainly one who believe that one's obligation was to
humanity before any nation.
"...and my religion is to do good."
Paine was a Deist; meaning that while he believed in an Infinite Being who created the universe, he did not believe that this Creator intervened on behalf of humans or otherwise suspended the laws of Nature. Moreover, to Paine's way of thinking, there is no reason to believe that this God pays any attention to any of the insignifcant goings-on in our universe. Thus Paine believed that rather than worshipping in the usual manner, the highest tribute one could pay to God was to keep the world as good as possible.