Agnostic/Atheist, Whats the Difference?

Chippy, saying I can't know is fence sitting. It is not choosing a side.

Agnosticism is the active stance of stating it is unknown if there is a god.

Atheism is the default for everyone as it's the non-belief in god or gods.

Edit: No David N, atheism is the non-belief in gods. It requires no active disbelief but it can have active disbelief.

It's not all cut and dry like the other people are saying.

Not all Atheists are the same, and not all Agnostics are the same. For example, there are two types of Atheist, "strong" and "weak". The strong says "There is no god", and the weak says "There probably is no god." I myself am a "weak" atheist, as I don't like absolutes. There very well could be "something" out there, and nobody can prove otherwise.

An Agnostic sometimes gets called a fence sitter, someone who is 50/50 on gods. But that's far from the truth. Most agnostics lean one way or another. Most lean towards atheism.

In a sense, agnostics that lean towards doubt, and atheists that are open to the possibility that maybe something is out there, are essentially the same. They overlap. For this reason, I wish atheists and agnostics didn't bicker with each other so much. We're on the same side.

The atheist doesn't believe that there's a God. Because there's not enough evidence, because there's no reason to believe there's one, because it's irrational, whatever the reason might be an atheist don't believe there is a God.

The agnostic says that there's a realm outside of what can me explained by science. The spiritual, supernatural or metaphysical realm, and that it's impossible for humans to obtain true knowledge or any knowledge at all about such reality.

The problem with this terms is that they describe different things. Atheism describe one's lack of believe in God, the opposite of theism. While agnosticism is not concerned with the belief itself but with the philosophy about obtain knowledge about the believe.

Atheist: I believe there's no God.

Atheist and agnostic: I believe there's no God but ultimately there's no way to prove or disprove spiritual matters.

Theist and agnostic: I believe there's a God but we might never be able to communicate with it or understand his existence.

So it all revolves around one simple thing: should we even consider that there's another reality that we can't understand or should we just reject the idea.

Be aware that people nowadays call themselves agnostics when they're just undecided. If you just don't now whether or not to believe that is not agnosticism. You can be undecided and not be an agnostic.

1) Strong atheism is the declaration that no gods exist.

2) Weak atheism is the lack of belief in gods.

3) Weak agnosticism is the claim that one does not know whether there are gods or not.

4) Strong agnosticism is the claim that whether gods exist or not is inherently unknowable.

A person can be a weak atheist and either type of agnostic at the same time. A strong atheist cannot be an agnostic because they claim to know that no gods exist.

There is actually Agnostic Atheists. An agnostic atheist is atheistic because he or she does not believe in the existence of any deity and is also agnostic because he or she does not claim to have definitive knowledge that a deity does not exist.

Wrong, wrong, wrong Dan!

Agnostics believe there is absolutely no way we can know, without a doubt, that there is, or is NOT, a god! Agnosticism is the philosophical view that metaphysical claims about theology, gods, demons, hell and heaven is not known for certain by any human being and is impossible to prove or disprove.

Agnostics are between the two hard-liner views: "religiousness" and atheism.

Yes, there is a difference. Atheists are those who positively assert that God at least probably does not exist. Agnostics are those who have not decided whether or not God exists. As such they are two mutually exclusive religious viewpoints.

A = without

theism = beliefs in god/s.

gnosticism = knowledge of god/s.

Atheism is a position of non-belief (which is not to be confused with a belief).

Agnosticism is a position of non-knowledge.

I know many people who are agnostic and atheist at the same time. They have no beliefs or knowledge of god/s.

These positions are not mutually exclusive.

Atheists deny the existence of any God(s), whereas agnostics believe it's impossible to know one way or another. People can be theistic and agnostic, as well as atheistic and agnostic.

I am agnostic and atheist.

Agnostic's believe that it is impossible for man to know whether any god or gods exist or not.

Atheists lack belief in any god or gods.

I believe you cant know for sure, and I dont hold belief in any such being.

Atheism -

A - Without

Theism - Belief in a god or gods.

Agnostic -

A - Without

Gnostic - Knowledge.

Edit: It's come to my attention, after reading some answers, that people here don't really understand what agnosticism is.

It's not about fence sitting. It's a rather firm stance. You CANT know.