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free-think-er, n.
A person who forms opinions about religion on the basis of reason, independently of tradition, authority, or established belief. Who we are: Freethinkers At Virginia Tech is a student organization which seeks to educate the Virginia Tech community on the importance of church-state separation and also to increase awareness of cult phenomena. Freethought is the application of critical thinking and logic to all areas of human experience, including those of supernatural and authoritarian beliefs. Freethinkers value rational and scientific inquiry, individual freedom and responsibility, and the need for tolerance and cooperation. Freethought is thought unconstrained by deference to authority. We are a student organization that is dedicated to promoting and practicing the open, rational, and scientific examination of the universe and our place in it. We also seek to demonstrate, by argument and action, that it is possible to lead a good and meaningful life without religion, and that ethics and morality can be meaningfully based on rational and humanistic ideals and values. Regarding Tolerance: We want to make it clear that although we advocate particular views about the universe and how to understand it, that we do not wish to force anyone to believe as we do. We may attempt to persuade, and cast our ideas in a positive light, but never at the cost of dishonesty, intimidation, or manipulation. Many people believe that Freethinkers want to force everyone to live in an "atheistic regime." Little could be further from the truth. We believe that every individual must discover truth and meaning on their own and that strong legal or cultural rules about how to view the world are almost always dangerous and counterproductive. We also wish to stress the difference between opposing a view of the universe and opposing the people that support that view. Indeed there are many world views that we feel we have examined enough to be confident in opposing. However, we do not directly oppose the people that believe them. We feel that it is naive to define people simply by the way they view the world--especially considering how much this can change during the course of a lifetime. (Thanks to Students for Freethought @ OSU for some of the text on this page.) Contacting Us: Please email us at freethinkers@vt.edu if you have any questions or would like more information about our group. |