Freethought

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Freethought has the objective of trying to form one's opinions independently of or unrestricted by tradition, authority, established belief, preconception, prejudice or any agenda that might compromise the free exercise of thought. It is pertinent both to religious and to non-religious beliefs, though there is controversy as to what "religious" means. In modern America the meaning of religion encompasses not only the values and ethics in which someone lives their life, but also implies the belief in a supernatural power. The true definition therefore is just the values and methods of living one's life, and says nothing at all about the belief or disbelief in higher powers.

Freethought has at times been construed as opposition to organized religion, especially those that possess beliefs in supernatural beings. Freethought is itself concerned with values and ethics and so is after a logical understanding of the same manner of principles and beliefs that a religion affords. At times Freethought is portrayed as nihilistic or "thinking whatever you want," but in the quest for an understanding of reality, the first step is often rebellion against established principles. Thought is, by definition, a system of rules applied to facts. It is this which gives structure and coherence to the religious stance of Freethinking.

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Freethinkers

Freethinkers strive to form their opinions on the basis of facts and reason. An idealized statement of this attitude is "Clifford's Credo," an aphorism of the 19th Century British mathematician and philosopher William Kingdon Clifford who wrote in his "Ethics of Belief" that "It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence." Because so many popular beliefs are based on tradition or authority, freethinkers' opinions are often at odds with established dogmatic, political, social, intellectual or religious views.

Given present known facts, well-established scientific theories, and logical principles, Freethinkers hold that there is insufficient evidence to support the existence of such supernatural entities and phenomena as ghosts, gods, angels, devils, leprechauns, reincarnation, heaven, hell, and so on. There are, of course, some who insist that one can believe in such things and still be a freethinker.

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Freethought and religion

In Western society, where Christianity is the dominant religious tradition, Freethought by definition involves a rejection of these established principles. Where other dogmas or doctrines are prevalent, those who dissent from them on the basis of facts and rational analysis also exhibit the principles of freethought. This will apply regardless of what the prevailing or approved doctrine might be, whether religious or not. Freethinkers neither accept nor reject ideas proposed as truth without recourse to facts and reason. A rejection of any ideas, religious or otherwise, on the basis of prejudice and dogmatic attitudes is inconsistent with the commonly stated principles of Freethinking -- though it occurs nonetheless, as Freethinkers are subject to human pride and fallacy as are other people. Freethinkers who strive to follow the discipline of the Scientific method can reduce the errors they make but no human can avoid error.

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Related Concepts

There are ties between freethought and atheism, agnosticism, deism, heresy, skepticism (scepticism), Universism and both humanism and secular humanism. But none of these terms are synonymous with one another as they refer to ideas that may or may not be connected with ultimate concerns and may or may not place the strongest emphasis on evidence and reason.

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Necessity of Faith?

Freethought can be viewed as varying in its quality and strength. Believers in any supernaturalistic religious tradition, for example, may suppose that they hold their faith on the basis of facts and reason. They may even fail to realize that faith would then not be necessary. Nevertheless, they may be willing to question or even to reject the religious teachings which they had previously accepted and this stance is certainly in line with that of Freethought. Similarly, Deists claim that they can know that a deity exists through rational argument which demands the existence of a first cause. This may appear to be consistent with Freethought but for the fact that Deism is essentially an untestable and unfalsifiable claim about objective reality and this is precisely the sort of claim that is rejected by Freethinkers.

"Clifford's Credo" and the writings of many freethinkers indicate that thought concerning ultimate concerns need not be rooted in theological doctrines and dogmas and yet can have moral foundations as strong as those to be found in religious traditions that do rely on theological teachings.

Some freethinkers hold that freethinking may be considered a religion itself, or at least as a form of religious philosophy, since it offers alternative analyses of and conclusions about religious questions which do not include supernaturalism. In 1994, this idea was acted on in the founding of the Church of Freethought, which now exists as two active congregations of freethinkers: the North Texas Church of Freethought and the Houston Church of Freethought. In 2003, freethinkers who extended their skepticism to their own views, and were willing to embrace uncertainty, began a faithless religious movement called Universism.

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History

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The birth in England and France

The term Free-Thinker emerged toward the end of the 17th century in England, as opposition to the institution of the church and literal belief in the bible. Instead the view emerged that man could understand the world through consideration of nature. These positions were formally documented for the first time in 1697 by William Molyneux in a widely publicized letter to John Locke and more extensively in 1713 when Anthony Collins wrote his Discourse of Free-Thinking, which gained substantial popularity. In France, the concept first appeared in publication when Denis Diderot, Jean le Rond d'Alembert and Voltaire included in an article on Libre-Penseur in their Encyclopédie in 1765; the article was strongly atheistic. The European freethought concepts spread widely so that even places as remote as the Jotunheim in Norway had well-known freethinkers such as Jo Gjende by the 19th century.

The Freethinker magazine was first published in Britain in 1881.

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Early German Freethought

In Germany during the period (1815-1848) before the March Revolution, the resistance of citizens against the Dogma of the church increased. In 1844 under the influence of Johannes Ronge and Robert Blum the belief in the rights of man, tolerance among men, and humanism grew and by 1859 they established the Bund Freireligiöser Gemeinden Deutschlands. This union still exists today, and is included as a member in the umbrella organization of free humanists. In 1881 in Frankfurt am Main, Ludwig Büchner established Deutschen Freidenkerbund as the first German organization for atheists. In Hamburg in 1882 the social-democratic Freidenker-Gesellschaft was formed.

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In the United States

Driven by revolutions of 1848 in the German states, the 19th Century saw immigration of German freethinkers and atheists to the United States. They appear to be the first in the United States to refer to themselves as Freethinkers. Many of them settled in Texas, founding the town of Comfort, Texas, as well as others. Their settlements had no church buildings, and these newcomers were persecuted and sometimes killed for their opposition to the institution of slavery.

German Freethinker settlements were located in—

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Bibliography

  • Jacoby, Susan (2004). Freethinkers: a history of American secularism. New York: Metropolitan Books. ISBN 0805074422
  • Royle, Edward (1974). Victorian Infidels: the origins of the British Secularist Movement, 1791-1866. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719005574 Online version
  • Royle, Edward (1980). Radicals, Secularists and Republicans: popular freethought in Britain, 1866-1915. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719007836
  • Tribe, David (1967). 100 Years of Freethought. London: Elek Books.
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See also

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External links and references

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Local Freethought Organizations

cs:Volná myšlenka de:Freidenker eo:Liberpensuloj es:Librepensador fi:Vapaa-ajattelu fr:Libre-pensée hu:Szabadgondolkodó nl:Vrijdenkerij pt:Livre pensador

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