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"Agnostics", aren't you just pragmatic atheists?
Most "agnostics" are people who don't really believe in God, but think that we cannot rule out the possibility and so don't consider themselves atheists. They view themselves as somewhere between theism and atheism. (That is not, in fact, the correct definition, but that is how it is often used today.)
However, you don't follow a religion. You don't feel God has any real influence in your life. You aren't afraid of Hell. etc. Aren't you, in a pragmatic sense, just atheists?
Please stop posting definitions of agnosticism.
I am specifically referring to agnostics who use the term to mean, "neither a theists nor an atheist." Everyone I have ever met who uses the word agnostic to describe themselves uses it to describe this 'in the middle' point of view.
I am well aware this is not the dictionary definition, but it is how it is often used.
9 Answers
- ALv 67 years agoFavorite Answer
Actually, most 'agnostics' probably are atheists. The thing is, just saying you're agnostic in no way answers the 'do you believe in a god' question. 'I don't know' isn't an answer to a yes/no question. People who claim that they're 'just agnostic' are the worst kind of moronic fence sitters, who have literally NO idea what the word means.
So yes, agnostics are atheists, just as they're also sometimes theists.
- 6 years ago
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RE:
"Agnostics", aren't you just pragmatic atheists?
Source(s): quot agnostics quot aren 39 pragmatic atheists: https://shortly.im/UhSRJ - injanierLv 77 years ago
Agnosticism is just the belief that you can't know if god[s] exist. From there, you can choose to believe or not. There is such a thing as an agnostic theist.
- bkaLv 77 years ago
no. it doesn't mean that.
i think that's what it looks like to religious people... because they see atheists and agnostics as non-believers, varying levels of "wrong".
but an agnostic would also view both atheists and the religious as being similarly "wrong". as both assume they *know* for sure, and the point of being agnostic is believing you don't get to *know*.
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- Anonymous7 years ago
Since agnosticism is concerned with knowledge, it's the only position to take when talking about god(s). We don't have knowledge of any god thingies, and with the way gods are typically described, we might never be *able* to have knowledge of such things. Gods are likely just imaginary anyway.
Source(s): agnostic atheist
