The difference between atheism and agnosticism?

Question

I normally associate an atheist with one who denies the existence of a higher being while an agnostic is one who is 'unsure' but I am not sure about the difference. A friend of mine said that atheists are constantly trying to refute religion. What does the difference between the two mean to you?

Answer 1

Atheism is a lack of belief in god.

Agnosticism is the claim that fundamental knowlege is imposible. It has nothing to do with belief.

Answer 2

Sounds like you have pretty much got it right but your friend is wrong. Being an atheist doesn't mean you try to disprove religion, you just don't believe in a god. An agnostic believes that the existence of god either can't be proven or that they have no proof personally. A person can be agnostic and still believe in a god, they just don't think it can be proven.
Wikipedia has good, detailed explanations of what each word means. I've also put the links up for agnostic atheism and agnostic theism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_theism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_atheism

Answer 3

I am agnosticist and I am always worried when persons confuse atheism and agnosticism.

In the state of the human knowledge at that time, it is impossible to know if god(s) exist or not .We do not know enough and the universe we can know is so large.

So saying something about existence or non existence of god is as if you read a newspaper without images written in an unknown foreign language. Impossible to decide

All believes are possible

Answer 4

You are correct. Atheists do not believe in a higher power. Agnostics are either unsure, or believe there's a higher power of some sort, they're just not sure what it is.

As for atheists who try to refute religion, yeah, they're out there, but in my opinion, they're no different than the religious zealots who try to cram their beliefs down your throat, too. It just becomes a question of what set of beliefs. :)

Hope that helps.

Answer 5

The word 'Agnostic' means "Without Knowledge", displaying the fact that one who claims to be agnostic is simply stating that they do not have enough facts on either side of the argument to say whether or not there is a God. Basically, they say they will be convinced in a God when He shows up on their front door and shakes their hand.

An Atheist is a person who is "without a god", not believing in any outside spiritual force.

The funniest argument that I see from either side is what many agnostics say about there being an absolute truth to either side. "There cannot be any absolute, one person's beliefs are right for them......" However, there must be ONE TRUTH, ONE ABSOLUTE, it is a rather self-defeating statement to say that there is not one. Think about it, are you absolutely sure that nothing is absolute? You must be skeptical about your own skepticism to make such a statement. It goes beyond all reason to say that there is not one absolute in every aspect of life.

Answer 6

Atheism entails, minimally, the disbelief[1] in the existence of any deities.[2] It is contrasted with theism, the belief in a God or gods. Atheism is commonly defined as the positive belief that deities do not exist, or as the deliberate rejection of theism.[3][4][5] However, others define atheism as the simple absence of belief in deities[6][7][8] (cf. nontheism), thereby designating all agnostics, and people who have never heard of gods, such as newborn children, as atheists as well.[9][10] In recent years, some atheists have adopted the terms strong and weak atheism to clarify whether they consider their stance one of positive belief (strong atheism) or the mere absence of belief (weak atheism).[11][12][13]

Many self-described atheists share common skeptical concerns regarding supernatural claims, citing a lack of empirical evidence for the existence of deities. Other rationales for atheism range from the philosophical to the social to the historical. Although atheists tend toward secular philosophies such as humanism, rationalism, and naturalism, there is no one ideology or set of behaviors that all atheists adhere to.[14][15][16]

In Western culture, atheists are frequently assumed to be irreligious or non-spiritual.[17] However, some religious and spiritual beliefs, such as several forms of Buddhism, have been described by outside observers as conforming to the broader, negative definition of atheism due to their lack of any participating deities.[18][19] Atheism is also sometimes equated with antitheism (opposition to theism) or antireligion (opposition to religion), despite many atheists not holding such views.


Agnosticism (from the Greek a, meaning "without" and gnosis, "knowledge", translating to unknowable) is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims—particularly theological claims regarding metaphysics, afterlife or the existence of God, god(s), or deities—is unknown or (possibly) inherently unknowable.

Agnostics claim either that it is not possible to have absolute or certain knowledge or, alternatively, that while certainty may be possible, they personally have no knowledge. Agnosticism in both cases involves some form of skepticism.

Demographic research services[1] normally list agnostics alongside categories such as atheist and non-religious, although this is misleading, since religious people can be agnostic (indicating a lack of absolute certainty, therefore treating their religion as a faith).

Answer 7

Atheism deals with belief, Agnosticism deals with knowledge. The atheist lacks a belief in god or gods, the agnostic doesn't claim to have knowledge to weather or not god exists... It's that simple

Answer 8

I think you are quite right in your definition. Atheists are not all constantly trying to refute religion, but some may be.

Answer 9

You are correct, an agnostic is unsure what to believe, so takes neither side, and athiests flat out have no belief.

Answer 10

Your definition is correct. Stick with it.

While many atheists may "constantly refute religion", that is not what defines an atheist. Many atheist never even discuss religion.

Your friend is giving you their biased definition.

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