What is "Freethought"?

Bertrand Russell wrote this regarding freedom of thought:

"What makes a free thinker is not his beliefs, but the way in which he holds them. If he holds them because his elders told him they were true when he was young, or if he holds them because if he did not he would be unhappy, his thought is not free; but if he holds them because, after careful thought, he finds a balance of evidence in their favor, then his thought is free, however odd his conclusions may seem."

The term "Freethought" is a little uncommon these days, being something over a century old and rarely used currently. To explain:

  We reject the notion of believing in any idea, supernatural or not, without sufficient reason. Many who are counted among our ranks will call thenselves by other names -- atheist, agnostic, non-believers, and so forth. There are even some who are believers -- members of various sorts of religious groups who accept that their faith is not based in reason, and are not uncomfortable in talking about such matters calmly and openly with non-believers.

  The one true hallmark of a "freethinker" is skepticism. By this, we mean that while all knowledge is based on established facts, that knowledge is subject to change, based on new discoveries. We may accept that E=mc² today, but we realize that such acceptance should be provisional in light of possible future discoveries. In simpler terms, we are willing to accept that we might be wrong on any subject, even religion. But to get us to make that leap, reason must be employed.

For further, more recent ideas on what Freethought means, please click here.

Visitors to our meetings:

  We welcome all who would come to join us in our meetings, provided that they come with an attitude of common respect and tolerance, the same as you would have in visiting any stranger's home. Although a very rare occurance, we have had folks come for the purpose of harrassment and preaching in the past. Therefore, we reserve the right to eject anyone who chooses to act in a disruptive manner while visiting one of our meetings.