--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The United States should be an asylum for…" description: "\"The United States should be an asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty.\" — Thomas Paine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b4/thomas-paine-267_asylum_the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-fo_247978.png" --- # The United States should be an asylum for the persecuted… ![“The United States should be an asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty.” quote by Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b4/thomas-paine-267_asylum_the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-fo_247978.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b4/thomas-paine-267_asylum_the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-fo_247978.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b4/thomas-paine-267_asylum_the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-fo_247978.png) > “The United States should be an asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty.” [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A nation should protect those fleeing oppression for freedom of belief. **In simple terms:** Freedom seekers deserve safe haven. Key Takeaway Advocate policies that shelter persecuted individuals. Themes freedom human rights asylum Mood hopeful determined Type political humanitarian When to use this quote - refugee policy - international law - civil activism Key Concepts political philosophy humanitarianism Questions to Reflect On - How can societies protect both security and liberty? - What responsibilities do wealthy nations have to refugees? A Different Perspective Balancing national security with humanitarian duties is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asylum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylum/) [Asylums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylums/) [Immigration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-liberty/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) ## Related quotes > [This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe. Hither have they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/this-new-world-hath-been-the-asylum-for-the-persecuted-lovers-of/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America. This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/europe-and-not-england-is-the-parent-country-of-america-this-new/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [My heart goes out to children around the world who face terrible poverty. But the United States cannot give asylum to every child in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/my-heart-goes-out-to-children-around-the-world-who-face-terrible/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [All the asylum clothing is made by the patients, but sewing does not employ one's mind. After several months' confinement the thoughts of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-bly/all-the-asylum-clothing-is-made-by-the-patients-but-sewing-does-not/) [Nellie Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-bly/) > [Erroneous views and presumptuousness send a talent to the insane asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/erroneous-views-and-presumptuousness-send-a-talent-to-the-insane/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [Just previous to the birth of my little son, my mind gave way and my child was born in the asylum for the insane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belle-boyd/just-previous-to-the-birth-of-my-little-son-my-mind-gave-way-and-my/) [Belle Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belle-boyd/) > ['The Tube' was the first time the plebs had gone on the television. The lunatics taking over the asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jools-holland/the-tube-was-the-first-time-the-plebs-had-gone-on-the-television-the/) [Jools Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jools-holland/) > [We cannot treat people with a right to asylum the same way as people from a safe country. They need to be sent back.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-gentiloni/we-cannot-treat-people-with-a-right-to-asylum-the-same-way-as-people/) [Paolo Gentiloni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-gentiloni/) > [I would be happy to accept asylum, political asylum, in India — a nation I love. In return, I will bring Mayawati a range…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/i-would-be-happy-to-accept-asylum-political-asylum-in-india-a-nation/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [“Insane asylums are deliberate and premeditated receptacles of black magic, and it is not only that doctors encourage magic with their untimely and hybrid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/insane-asylums-are-deliberate-and-premeditated-receptacles-of-black/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [I had, toward the last, been shut off from all visitors, and so when the lawyer, Peter A. Hendricks, came and told me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-bly/i-had-toward-the-last-been-shut-off-from-all-visitors-and-so-when-the/) [Nellie Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-bly/) > [South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-petigru/south-carolina-is-too-small-for-a-republic-and-too-large-for-an/) James L. Petigru > [I shouldn't make movies anymore. I should go to a lunatic asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-shouldn-t-make-movies-anymore-i-should-go-to-a-lunatic-asylum/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [The lunatics have taken over the asylum and we can do anything we want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-lunatics-have-taken-over-the-asylum-and-we-can-do-anything-we-want/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [This is called 'the land of the free and the home of the brave'; it is called the 'asylum of the oppressed,' and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wells-brown/this-is-called-the-land-of-the-free-and-the-home-of-the-brave-it-is/) [William Wells Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wells-brown/) ## More by Thomas Paine > [“No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/no-man-is-prejudiced-in-favour-of-a-thing-knowing-it-to-be-wrong-he/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“The laws of every country must be analogous to some common principle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-laws-of-every-country-must-be-analogous-to-some-common-principle/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The book called the Bible has been voted by men, and decreed by human laws to be the word of God; and the disbelief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-book-called-the-bible-has-been-voted-by-men-and-decreed-by-human/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Commerce diminishes the spirit, both of patriotism and military defence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/commerce-diminishes-the-spirit-both-of-patriotism-and-military-defence/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-raping-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/those-who-expect-to-reap-the-blessings-of-freedom-must-like-men/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“It has been the practice of all Christian commentators on the Bible, and of all Christian priests and preachers, to impose the Bible on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/it-has-been-the-practice-of-all-christian-commentators-on-the-bible/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Wisdom is not the purchase of a day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/wisdom-is-not-the-purchase-of-a-day/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/our-citizenship-in-the-united-states-is-our-national-character-our/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/suspicion-is-the-companion-of-mean-souls-and-the-bane-of-all-good/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“To pass from the extremes of danger to safety-from the tumult of war to the tranquility of peace, though sweet in contemplation, requires a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-pass-from-the-extremes-of-danger-to-safety-from-the-tumult-of-war/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [What more does man want to know than that the hand or power that made these things is divine, is omnipotent? Let him believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-more-does-man-want-to-know-than-that-the-hand-or-power-that-made/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) [Explore all 772 Thomas Paine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## More Asylum quotes > [Any country that grants asylum to Snowden risks retaliation from the United States, including diplomatic isolation and costly trade sanctions. Several don't seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/any-country-that-grants-asylum-to-snowden-risks-retaliation-from-the/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Sometimes I think they should set up an asylum for people like that... a whole slew of paparazzi defending their positions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-think-they-should-set-up-an-asylum-for-people-like-that-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“congress - that great, benevolent asylum for the helpless”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/congress-that-great-benevolent-asylum-for-the-helpless/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I would not invest in a Trump hate wall. We don't need to be protected from immigrants that are coming here seeking asylum and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayanna-pressley/i-would-not-invest-in-a-trump-hate-wall-we-don-t-need-to-be-protected/) [Ayanna Pressley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayanna-pressley/) > [This is called 'the land of the free and the home of the brave'; it is called the 'asylum of the oppressed,' and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wells-brown/this-is-called-the-land-of-the-free-and-the-home-of-the-brave-it-is/) [William Wells Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wells-brown/) > [The lunatics have taken over the asylum and we can do anything we want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-lunatics-have-taken-over-the-asylum-and-we-can-do-anything-we-want/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Individuals whose asylum claims have been accepted have gone on to become professors, soldiers in our military, artists, and more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pramila-jayapal/individuals-whose-asylum-claims-have-been-accepted-have-gone-on-to/) [Pramila Jayapal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pramila-jayapal/) > [I shouldn't make movies anymore. I should go to a lunatic asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-shouldn-t-make-movies-anymore-i-should-go-to-a-lunatic-asylum/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-petigru/south-carolina-is-too-small-for-a-republic-and-too-large-for-an/) James L. Petigru > [I had, toward the last, been shut off from all visitors, and so when the lawyer, Peter A. Hendricks, came and told me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-bly/i-had-toward-the-last-been-shut-off-from-all-visitors-and-so-when-the/) [Nellie Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-bly/) > [“I was in a mental asylum? When the fuck did that happen?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/i-was-in-a-mental-asylum-when-the-fuck-did-that-happen/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [“Asylum. The word always made me smile. Such a pretty name for a hellhole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-estep/asylum-the-word-always-made-me-smile-such-a-pretty-name-for-a-hellhole/) [jennifer estep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-estep/) > [“Insane asylums are deliberate and premeditated receptacles of black magic, and it is not only that doctors encourage magic with their untimely and hybrid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/insane-asylums-are-deliberate-and-premeditated-receptacles-of-black/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [Instead of turning loose these bogus asylum applicants onto the American streets never to be seen again, let's put them into mobile homes. Let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kobach/instead-of-turning-loose-these-bogus-asylum-applicants-onto-the/) [Kris Kobach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kobach/) > [“He'll have to do without me, Jamie thought, not looking back. And then clearly, as if he'd been told, he knew Grenville /could/ do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-hinton-2/he-ll-have-to-do-without-me-jamie-thought-not-looking-back-and-then/) [S.E. Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-hinton-2/) [Browse all 166 Asylum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylum/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The United States should be an asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Paine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-for-the-persecuted-lovers-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asylum" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-for-the-persecuted-lovers-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b4/thomas-paine-267_asylum_the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-fo_247978.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b4/thomas-paine-267_asylum_the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-fo_247978.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b4/thomas-paine-267_asylum_the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-fo_247978.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The United States should be an asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty.” — Thomas Paine", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Paine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The United States should be an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-for-the-persecuted-lovers-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-for-the-persecuted-lovers-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```