I think he is probably referring to the Eastern Orthodox wing of Christianity, the Byzantine Church. I doubt that he would have given much thought to Islam, because the Islamic world would hardly have impinged on North American society at all at that point in history.

Anyway, I like how he words it. I feel much the same way as what he expresses. I have a certain mystical sense that my life is part of some greater spiritual existence all around me (and within me), but I have no interest in adopting any existing religious creed or being a part of some church hierarchy. Life itself is sacred, and I'm a part of life, as is everyone else. So to me, life = God. That doesn't mean that God is an individual, does it? It doesn't mean that God judges, condemns, or demands anything of anyone. It means that God is a totality of existence, and all that lives is part of that totality.

Belonging to no creed, I am a free thinker, as was Tom Paine.

You see, you don't have to not believe in "God" to be a free thinker. You just have to not believe in the established religious creeds and all the complex rules and restrictions that go with belonging to them. You have to trust your own judgement rather than someone else's. You have to trust your own mind, rather than letting a "holy" book or a Pope or a man in a robe make your decisions for you.

(And by the way, if you move that same argument into a political context, then to be a free thinker politically means....to be free of party affiliation. I have never belonged to any political party either. For the same basic reason. I wish to be free and independent in my thinking.)

Mind you, I'm always willing to listen to someone else's viewpoint....and then make my own decision according to my own best judgement. Other people's viewpoints can be quite useful, specially if their experience is greater than one's own.