About Orlando Atheists & Freethinkers

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What Is Freethought?

Freethinkers: those who arrive at conclusions, particularly in questions of religion, by employing the rules of reason while rejecting supernatural authority or ecclesiastical tradition. The freethinkers believe that independence of thought from such authority leads all men to essentially identical conclusions concerning morality and religion.

http://en.wikipedia.o...


Free·think·er (frē'thĭng'kər) n. One who has rejected authority and dogma, especially in religious thinking, in favor of rational inquiry and speculation.

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History: The name came into general use in the 18th cent. after the publication (1713) of Anthony Collins's Discourse of Freethinking Occasioned by the Rise and Growth of a Sect Called Freethinkers. The movement took different forms in different countries. In England it was intimately connected with deism but did not break completely with traditional Christianity. It took a more radical form in France. Voltaire renounced all connection with Christianity, and the Encyclopedists broke with religion altogether. Freethinking also has an important social side and influenced the philosophies of the Freemasons and, in France, the Culte de l'Être Suprême.

In the United States the organizations established to further freethinking include the American Rationalist Association, the American Secular Union, and the Freethinkers of America. The International Order for Ethics and Culture, organized at Bern in 1908, is designed to investigate the ethical factors in society without theological or metaphysical bias.

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Atheism: Defined

Atheism is characterized by an absence of belief in the existence of gods. This absence of belief generally comes about either through deliberate choice, or from an inherent inability to believe religious teachings, which seem literally incredible. It is not a lack of belief born out of simple ignorance. In fact, many atheists or non-believers are more knowledgeable of bible teachings than most so-called Christians or believers.

Some atheists go beyond a mere absence of belief in gods: they actively believe that particular gods, or all gods, do not exist. Just lacking belief in Gods is often referred to as the "weak (skeptical) atheist" position; whereas believing that gods do not (or cannot) exist is known as "strong atheism".

Regarding people who have never been exposed to the concept of 'god': Whether they are 'atheists' or not is a matter of debate. Although atheists have a common disbelief, not all atheists are "strong atheists". There is a qualitative difference in the "strong" and "weak" positions; it's not just a matter of degree. Some atheists believe in the non-existence of all Gods; others limit their atheism to specific Gods, such as the Christian God, rather than making flat-out denials.

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"There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion, is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

Ann Nicol Gaylor, Founder of the Freedom From Religion Foundation

http://www.ffrf.org...