[Jenny30918]

What exactly is the difference between Agnostic and Atheist? Do you have any beliefs at all, i.e. in heaven and hell?
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Name : Jenny30918, Gender : F, Religion : Roman Catholic, Age : 28, City : N/A, State : MI, Country : United States, 

[C.S.]

Agnostics question God (the Bible, is he real, how do we know, etc.). Atheists don’t believe in God, Heaven or Hell (they don’t have a religion).

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Name : C.S., Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 16, City : Shelby, State : NC, Country : United States, Occupation : High school student, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Jim-R30689]

An atheist simply does not believe in god. (Side note 1: Most theists are atheists with respect to all gods except their chosen one.) As coined by T.H.Huxley, the word Agnostic refers to someone who believes that we don’t know whether God exists, nor is it possible to know (A=without, gnosis=knowledge). Some call this Strong Agnosticism, and some feel this position is not defensible because it requires knowledge about reality and the nature of knowing, and is therefore self-contradictory. I think it’s proper to use the definition offered by its creator, but lately the word has come to have other meanings. A modern agnostic might not know whether god exists, but might not exclude the possibility of knowing. This type is sometimes called a Weak Agnostic. Another type of agnostic is just someone who hasn’t yet made up his mind. This is sometimes referred to as Empirical Agnosticism. (Side note 2: The term is not necessarily mutually exclusive with either ‘atheist’ or ‘christian’. A Christian could believe in God without knowing for sure, and an atheist could disbelieve in gods while not ruling out the possibility – however remote – that gods might be shown to exist)

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Name : Jim-R30689, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 42, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ray]

According to the current uses of the words, Atheists believe that there is no god, Agnostics aren’t sure. I’m an Agnostic, but I do have a belief system. I believe that the true mysteries of life and everything around us are beyond our ability to really understand. As humans, it’s our nature to try to explain our existence, but we’ll never really manage. I look around me everyday with a sense of wonder and awe at the world around me. The fact that I’m able to participate in this great thing called life astounds me. For me, questions like ‘Should there be gay clergy?’ or ‘Should school kids be taught the Ten Commandments?’ or ‘Is it OK to eat meat on Friday?’ pale compared to deeper thoughts. What are we made from? Has the matter that makes up your body always existed? If not, where did it come from? Does time have a beginning or an end? If yes, what was there before, what will be after? These are questions that transcend a belief in god because they apply to him too. We will never know the answers to these, and that realization has made the world religions all seem kinda trivial and petty to me. If there is a god, where did he come from? To me, that’s a far more important question than something as narrow as ‘does he love me?’ Much to the opposite of what you’d think, this view of the world has really made me want to live life to the fullest. I don’t think there’s a reward for me in the afterlife, so I do everything I can to make the most of the time I have here, and by that I don’t mean hedonistic abandon. I mean the feeling of accomplishment that comes with effort, the sense of community and belonging that my family gives me, the sheer joy of playing and laughing with my niece and nephew, the sublime pleasure of sharing my life with the people around me. I know that these are the truly important things and I do my best to experience them all as much as possible, as often as possible. I’m a decent, caring human being because it feels good, not because I’m afraid of going to hell, and that alone feels pretty amazing. It’s a difficult pill to swallow if you’ve been raised with religious beliefs. Fear of death can be overwhelming when you don’t think there’s anything afterwards, but you get over it, or at least you incorporate it into your view of the world and let it show you how precious life really is.

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Name : Ray, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 30, City : Toronto, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Technical Analyst, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Calladus]

While there are certainly Atheists who Dis-believe in God, there are also Atheists who hold no belief in any gods. There is a difference here that some people term ‘Weak’ or ‘Hard’ Atheism. By definition, atheist is A-Theist A meaning non, and Theist meaning believer. By definition an Atheist is a non-believer, and should hold NO belief in god(s). There are those Atheists that believe in the supernatural, and who believe in life after death, but this is not a rational position. A Rational Atheist accepts that there is no such thing as the supernatural, and that this wonderful life is all we get. After a bit of thought a rational Atheist will realize that this is true for everyone on the planet, and that the greatest crime that he could commit would be to mess up someone else’s only chance at life. This might be the basis of morality for Atheists.

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Name : Calladus, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : --, City : Freesno, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Michael]

As I see it, the difference is that atheists believe there are not any divine beings, whereas agnostics do not believe there divine beings. (Compare to: ‘all children do not like brocolli,’ versus ‘not all children do like brocolli.’) This does not mean that atheists and agnostics cannot have silly notions (just look at the Objectivists’ misuse of logic in their attempts to discount quantum mechanics and relativity); rather, they are statements to be taken at face value. Personally, I claim to be an agnostic because I believe it to be logically impossible to prove or disprove the existence of divinity; however, this dedication to strict logic holds an implicit rejection of the use of Occham’s razor in deciding personal beliefs, which opens the door to many implausible ideas which cannot logically be shown to be impossible. That, say, the movie The Labyrinth is a factual rendition of actual history is such an idea, so that I have no choice but to be open to such a possibility. However, this is not how I approach social interactions; there, I make use of observation, and employ Occham’s razor liberally. Otherwise, my code of ethics (which is similar to the Wiccan crede: If it harms none, do as you will) would cripple me, because anything I might do would cause harm to something. For example, I am, because of ethics, an ovolactovegetarian (but only free range eggs), as I cannot empathize with any possible pain a tree might feel; but if I refused to eat plant products out of fear of hurting plants, how would I sustain myself? As it stands, I’m already at risk of nutrient deficiency.

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Name : Michael, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 22, City : Baton Rouge, State : LA, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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