Liberal is a city in Barton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 629 at the 2020 census. Liberal was founded as an atheist utopia in 1880 by lawyer George Walser, who named it after the Liberal League in nearby Lamar. The city had restrictions on both religious buildings and saloons, instead offering intellectual pursuits. A contingent of Christian residents moved to the town and began holding religious services against Walser's wishes, and eventually took hold of the settlement.