Several years ago (on what was then called the World Wide Web) I did some research to find out if there was a symbol for free thought. After a surprisingly difficult search, I discovered a great article that discusses all of the various symbols. It explained why each symbol was associated with free thought and atheism, and weighed the pros and cons of each. Though they have since changed their opinion, the article convinced me that the perfect circle fully represents the philosophy of freethought.

Reasons why the perfect circle is an appropriate symbol for freethinkers:

• It’s perfect. This doesn’t presume that freethinkers are perfect, only that we should strive for perfection. And since perfection can obviously never be attained, the emphasis is on the constant drive towards perfection.
• It’s a circle. True circles don’t exist in nature as far as we’re aware. Many things are circular, but no one has yet to discover a place in which an actual circle exists. But the concept is simple enough that almost anyone who has ever lived could understand and recognize it.
• It has an infinite number of sides and infinite angles, a reminder of the boundless ideas of a mind free of religion.
• It’s symmetrical. Balance is an important concept to freethinkers. Balance of philosophy, of nature, of ideas, etc.
• It resembles sub-atomic particles, atoms, bubbles, balloons, moons, planets, stars, etc.
• It can be easily reproduced in almost any medium.
• The ancient symbol for the sun is a perfect circle with a dot (another circle) in the middle. We are, after all, made of starstuff.
• Humans that lived ten thousand years ago knew what a circle was, and humans ten thousand years from now will know what a circle is.
• It is a motif that is repeated unconsciously by billions of people all around the world. It appears in religions and non-religions in infinite varieties, transcending ideology and dogma.
• Before we can speak we can recognize a circle.
• It represents the number of gods and/or religions that freethinkers believe in. One could even argue that it represents all of them as opposed to none of them.