freethinker
/friːˈθɪŋkə
/noun
A person who rejects accepted opinions, especially those concerning religious belief.The religious freedom that enabled Protestants and Catholics to live in harmony made the Netherlands a haven for freethinkers and religious minorities....
- They were freethinkers and opponents of religious dogma.
- In short, in England and in America, the freedoms we have won were won often by alliance between freethinkers and religious progressives.
Synonyms
nonconformist, individualist, independent, maverick, dissenter, heretic;
libertine, agnostic, atheist, non-theist, non-believer, unbeliever, disbeliever, sceptic, doubter, doubting Thomas, apostate, humanist;
pagan, heathen, infidel
archaic paynim, renegade
rare nullifidian
Derivatives
freethinking
/ noun & adjective ...- His parents were religious but freethinking, and he attended the Church of England and the Wesleyan chapel.
- It was the century of religious freethinking, and printing outside Europe.
- Thompson is the freethinking, questioning spirit of a population that once challenged its government instead of championing it.