What is Freethought?

The Aulete Dictionary defines the word dogmatism thus: “Absolute conviction, not open to criticism”. Of all thoughts, which is the only one that absolutely doesn’t tolerate any kind of criticism? That’s right: religious thought. Freethought is, as the name says, thinking in a free way, that is, without dogmatism. Therefore, the thing most opposed to Freethought, since the most dogmatic, is religion.

If dogmatism is not thinking in a free way, religion is imprisonment of the mind. Actually, it’s a dictatorship: it dictates how people must think. However, of all dictatorships religion is the most perverse: the only one to threaten people, for example, with torture after death (in a lake of fire and brimstone, and simply for doubting).

A freethinker is one who doesn’t accept indubitable and unquestionable “truths”, especially the religious ones, which are imposed through divine revelation. If revelations were worth anything, all religions would have to be true. By the way, anyone can claim to have had a divine revelation, and no one will be capable of proving that it’s a delusion or a lie. Since for the freethinker intellectual honesty is above everything else, for him truth is only what is based on evidence.

The freethinker is not opposed to God existing. The freethinker is opposed to believing without evidence and accepting without questioning. If God’s existence is obvious, why don’t so many millions of people believe? Why do so many people who believe stop believing? Why are there so many religions, with completely different teachings about God? If God’s existence were obvious, there would be no need to believe, because what is obvious is not doubted. If to believe in God it’s necessary to have faith, faith itself is evidence that God doesn’t exist.

In addition to not accepting that life has an end and to fear of Hell, I think the great majority of religious people believe in God because they can’t stand living without knowing why the Universe exists and how life originated. However, not having answers to all questions is by no means shameful. Quite the contrary: since it’s intellectual honesty, the consciousness of not knowing is more satisfying than the illusion of knowing.

Those who accept “truths” that are not based on evidence are irrational, and in irrationality there are no criteria. People who believe, for example, in angels and demons have no rational reasons to doubt the existence of fairies and goblins, nor the morals to ridicule those who believe in vampire and werewolf. Moreover, those who think that being an atheist is illogical cannot find it illogical to worship, for example, Yemoja or Vishnu. Candomblecists and Hinduists are not atheists.

Only freethinkers are truly rational people. Their skepticism does not let them be lured by any ideology. Not believing anything devoid of evidence, freethinkers are immune also to any and all kinds of superstition.