free thinker

An individual whose opinions are formed on the basis of an understanding and rejection of tradition, authority or established belief.

A word meaning someone who doesn't necessarily base their opinions on any particular creed or system of ideas, but based on their own intuition and perception of reality.

Also, a word hijacked by the Militant Atheist movement to mean, well, an atheist, with the obvious (but baseless) implication that free thought would never bring anyone to believe in a higher power.

Years of misuse has reduced the term to a self-branded label for pretentious adolescents who have only just realized that the universe isn't what their parents/guardians lead them to believe like most rational individuals who reach this epiphany at the age of 6 but for lack of better word and/or urge to sound like pretentious adolescents who have only just realized that the universe isn't what their parents/guardians lead them to believe is used to describe anything from the classical definition of open-mindedness to being-like-the-rest-of-us-who-are-different-to-you.

Generally, an elitist misanthrope who is infatuated with his pretense of learning.

Another way to say that you're agnostic, which is a polite way to say that you don't believe in God, and is far too often confused with atheism, which means you don't believe in ANY religion. What's important is that none of these terms relate to having a religious belief, rather they signify a lack of belief.

A philosophical viewpoint that opinions or beliefs of reality should be based on science, logic and reason. Ideas should not be derived from religion, authority, governments or dogmas.

a) One who relies solely on themselves to make judgments based on their own perception of the world rather than blindly accepting what is told or implied by an outside influence, which is usually some kind of authoritarian figure.

Usually associated with non-conformists...