The free thinkers are quite proud of turning away from the church's moral authority. As Dostoyevsky said, "Without God, everything is permissible."
A free thinker is one who does recognize that the Church's "moral authority" has evolved and changed over time, and is therefore a fair topic for discussion. The concept of abortion comes to mind.
A free thinker is someone who recognizes and questions that which is completely ludicrous, regardless of who claims to be the final authority on the subject.