At least, you don't need to belong to any kind of religious, spiritual nor philosophical movement, alright?
- I try to understand a bit better, thx to your replies - Thx :-)
2006-08-16 03:24:51 · 15 answers · asked by Axel ∇ 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Thx Spamandham: "free from dogma" = exactly the words I needed to read. "not addicted to any kind of dogma". Thx!
2006-08-16 03:35:20 · update #1
If you are a free thinker, thats a belief label.
2006-08-16 03:28:53 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am a free thinker. I don't label my beliefs, but if I did, it would be a long label with a lot of /. What I mean is that I take ideas from various religious, spiritual and philosophical traditions. When it comes to spirituality and philosophy, the only thing labels do is create limitations and concrete definitions, as one's beliefs must be in sync with the rest of the "group". For example, Christianity doesn't allow for the belief in the feminine divine. Spirituality is a personal matter and shouldn't be defined by any particular movement, belief system or religion.
2006-08-16 10:33:00 · answer #2 · answered by Red 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No one, no matter what they think, is a free thinker. From birth, we are raised with certain beliefs. Have you realized that most of the time, if a parent is from a certain religion, the child will most often believe the same thing? They may think they came to their religious beliefs on their own, but they didn't. They didn't research a ton of religions and decide on the one that most agreed with them, they followed their parents.
Political parties are the same way. Rarely do democratic children come from republican parents or vice versa.
It isn't just you parents that influence beliefs. It is your friends, your teachers, public speakers, your preacher, and so on.
And war. Most americans believe Islam is wrong, but do you think Islamics feel the same way? If they did, they wouldn't believe what they believe.
No one can truly be a free thinker, but we can learn to better recognize the circumstances when we aren't expressing our own beliefs, but instead, a belief we were taught.
If you think you are a free thinker, it is only because someone told you you were-- and therefore, you think its true.
2006-08-16 10:34:47 · answer #3 · answered by queenoftheoakies 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am a free thinker. I started out a Christian but as I got older I started questioning the things they were trying to MAKE me believe and I just wasn't buying into it. I got tired of the bashing of other faiths & beliefs so I left and have never looked back. I've studied all other religions and beliefs as well as humanism & athiesm and have been able to just pick what I liked from each and form my own beliefs. I am a member of a Unitarian church and have found a great community of like-minded people. But I don't feel like it's the same as belonging to a specific religion. People respect ALL beliefs and thoughts. Don't have to agree, just respect.
2006-08-16 10:34:09 · answer #4 · answered by carpediem 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I like to think I am a free-thinker, I'm not sure this is the answer you're looking for, but I'm a spiritual person rather than a religious person. I don't belong to any group.
2006-08-16 10:32:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Being free from any belief-label DOES NOT make you a "free thinker." I am a born-again believer because I have freely chosen to be. Everything I believe about religion, politics, relationships, education, etc., I believe because I use "critical thinking" to examine all of my options and choose what I believed to be true.
Christians in Iran are killed for their belief in Jesus Christ as Savior, but they don't submit to the torture and murder by the Muslims and stop believing in Jesus Christ as Savior. I would say that is about as free thinking as you can get.
Being a "free thinker" means that you carefully explore all of your options through the use of critical thinking, and then you choose what you believe to be true even if those around you are trying to pressure you into believing what they believe.
2006-08-16 11:02:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Great question
Any one can be a free thinker, just don't believe everything you are told...religion is poisoned by doctrine and official methodologies of dissemination...
To step back from these and ask philosophical questions is to be truly enlightened...even if you continue to believe them afterwards you have gone down a very brave road as the religous teaching expressly forbid this...
2006-08-16 10:30:17 · answer #7 · answered by Ichi 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Being a freethinker does not prevent you from being a Theist, nor spiritual. However, if you are religious or spiritual you better have a solid logical basis for it.
Critical Thinking is all that is needed to be a Freethinker.
2006-08-16 10:29:59 · answer #8 · answered by eigelhorn 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not free from labels, after all, isn't "freethinker" a label? But I am free from dogma in that I do not accept arguments from authority.
2006-08-16 10:29:17 · answer #9 · answered by lenny 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Free thinkers are a myth that they have brainwashed themselves into believing, If they derive their thoughts from any source known to man then it is not free thinking, they got their thoughts from what others are thinking or wrote or was influenced by.
2006-08-16 10:30:28 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋