Are all atheists also free thinkers, and can only atheists think freely?

Of course not. A free thinker comes up with his/her conclusions about such questions as to whether or not God exists. The notion that someone is a free thinker because they were told that free thinkers are atheists is Orwellian doublethink.

Atheism and freethinking are two unrelated things.

The latter, however, almost invariably leads to the former.

ZEUS DID IT - "I don't like the term "free thinker" at all. It's a bit condescending, as if others are "unfree." Most Christians are "free" thinkers. No one is making them believe what they do. They could leave the church if they wanted."

Anyone *could* do *anything*.

Being a freethinker doesn't depend upon whether or not a person *could* base their conclusions upon independent evaluations; it depends upon whether or not they *have*.

Ergo, I would judge your statement, " Most Christians are "free" thinkers", entirely false. Perhaps many Christians possess the *capacity* to evaluate their beliefs independently; in my experience, the majority, I'm sorry to say, most certainly do *not* (and I would disagree with any argument that more than, say, one in ten possessed even the capacity graciously afforded them here; in my experience, no more than one person in a hundred is intelligent enough to be even worth conversing with on an issue such as this).

I don't like the term "free thinker" at all. It's a bit condescending, as if others are "unfree." Most Christians are "free" thinkers. No one is making them believe what they do. They could leave the church if they wanted. Rather, I think it's more accurate to say Christians are guilty of wishful thinking and cherry picking science.

I think a free thinker is someone with an open mind. Even a Christian that says "No, God might not be real, but I believe in him" can be considered a free thinker because he/she is saying that there is a chance that they are wrong.

Definition of a free thinker:

free·think·er

ˈfrēˈTHiNGkər/

noun

1.

a person who rejects accepted opinions, esp. those concerning religious belief.

This is not exclusive to atheists, nor have I seen atheists make the claim that only atheists can be free thinkers.

Not all, but it's generally true.

It IS only being applied to individuals, they're atheists.

Atheists share no ideology, the only thing they have in common is they lack a belief that a god exists.

False designation and should be applied to an individual. That individual could be theist atheist, monotheist agonist whatever.

A free thinker can be a theist, atheist ,deist, agnostic, etc. Anyone who follows their own true will and are their own influence.

That's like those god worshipers who claim they had the free will to give up their free will. Did they also give up the ability to think freely? "Free thought" is an atheist movement around here. Freedom FROM free thought does seem to be popular in the bible belt.

Atheists are not thinking clearly at all, in my opinion.

They know, or should know, that there is no way to prove their position.

You cannot prove a negative. Most agree with that.

But then they say, hey there's no proof for God, so we're right.

To take a page from Dr. Phil, I have to answer that with, "Excuse me, but are you insane?"