"Is it possible to wear such labels and still think with complete freedom?" - spearo Yes, I think so, though many choose not to. A label can be a convenient shorthand although it may be intended to convey more. It would also depend on whether the label is being used by the person themselves or by others to refer to that person. I am guessing you mean a self-reference. Without the contractions that language shortcuts, such as labels, provide discussions would flounder in philosophical definitions. And unless words are used in a "logical positivist" form it is hard to ever say anything. If I was to engage in a philosophical discussion on religion I would say I was agnostic in that the ultimate issues of creation are probably unknowable. Generally, and more practically, I would say I am an atheist as this is a more useful description of where I stand. Exaggerating this, if asked where I am, I would answer sitting in front of my computer; a more correct, but useless answer would be that I do not know as I cannot be certain about reality. If asked "where do we come from?", I would say what I understand about Darwinistic evolution and also say that others have different views based on their beliefs. I would not give equal weight to the religious creationist theories, if asked that question, because I believe them to be wholly wrong and I would state that as my belief. To try to answer questions such as this by giving an equal weight to all ideas, however quirky, would require encyclopeadic knowledge, a large amount of time, impossibly huge patience by the recipient and an infinite supply of soothing throat lozenges. In practice it would also be a certain way to turn of the student from ever asking a question again. Australian aboriginals have a creationst theory that involve the world being on the back of a giant turtle. I would not give equal weight to that idea either but it does not mean I do not respect the aboriginals or their culture. The key here is in not just teaching facts but in teaching respect for others and their cultures. I have two favourite quotations: "One thing you can be sure of is that everything we think we know is wrong" "Think, from the bowels of Christ, that you may be wrong" - Oliver Cromwell in pleading for a man's life