The Age of Reason had a profounnd impact on science in the eighteenth century. Scientists tried to come up with rational explanations for the way the world is, whether they studied behaviors of animals or chemical reactions. Superstition became less prevalent in the scientific world as many wanted to find a real reason rather than one based on emotions or fear. The question the scientists asked shifted from "What is it?" to "Why is it?"
This questioning was not limited to science. Educated people examined governments of the time to see what flaws they had and how these might be rectified. There was less of an acceptance of the status quo when people began to find flaws in the system. It was realized that the purpose of a government was to serve and protect those under it, and that a government gets its power from those whom it rules over. Thus Thomas Jefferson concluded that if a government isn't doing its job right, it is the right and duty of the people to replace it.
All of this rational thinking and ideas began to affect the popular culture. This was most evident in the British colonies in North America. The colonists left for America to escape the political and religious oppression in England, and when the British government tried to exercise more authority over the colonists, they protested. The colonists reasoned that since they went unrepresented in British government, they should not be subject to the same laws as other British people. This view was very popular; a vast number of Americans believed this way.
The Age of Reason had far-reaching effects in 18th century society. It had major influence over scientific thinking. It had effects on the political systems at the time also. The Age of Reason even had impacts on the everyday culture. The Age of Reason was in a way a "reawakening" -- not of religion, but of the rationality and order of the ancient Greeks and Romans.