Agnosticism is, in weaker forms, an affirmation of ignorance regarding the existence of a God or gods, and in stronger forms, the assertion that the existence of a deity or deities is unknowable. By contrast Atheism is a strong form of ignorance that denies the existence of God.[1]

The proponent of the weaker form does not make a claim to knowledge about existence, but he simply suspends from making a decision. A suspension of decision, in terms of logic, does not have a truth value, and therefore they are not making an argument. The proponent of the stronger form goes a step further and makes a claim to knowledge by saying, I know that the existence of God cannot be known.

The word "agnostic" was coined in 1869 by T. H. Huxley[2] from the Greek roots a- not, and -gnostic, knowing; the philosopher Herbert Spencer was influential in spreading its use. One nineteenth-century saw held that "There is no god but the Unknowable, and Herbert Spencer is his prophet."[3]

Some accuse agnostics of being cowardly atheists, due to their supposedly wishy-washy rejection of God. It is also said by particular Christian groups, particularly but not exclusively in the United States of America, that those who know of Jesus but do not accept him are just as damned as those who reject him explicitly.

See also: Atheists doubting the validity of atheism

Agnostics differ from atheists in that they do not deny the existence of a deity while not affirming the existence of one (thus occupying a "middle-ground").

Further division lies with in two kinds of agnosticism: Agnostic Theism and Agnostic Atheism. Agnostic Theists believe in a god but do not claim to know there is a god. Agnostic Atheists do not believe in a god but do not claim to know there is not a god. Thus the distinction between Agnostics as opposed to Theists or Atheists is they do not claim knowledge even if they claim a belief. So contrary to what some may believe, they are not opinion-less on the subject.

Many religious believers make no distinction among non-believers. If you're not sure that God exists, they combine the unsure and "surely not" into one lump. For these believers, an "atheist" is any faithless person who doesn't believe in God.

Among those who have not decided whether to believe in a god, or to disbelieve in the existence of one, there are two main groups:

Bertrand Russell once wrote that, in describing his beliefs,

Christian apologist Norman Geisler wrote on complete agnosticism:

Using academic studies, survey data and other information, supporters of the Question evolution! campaign maintain that there is a lack of sound leadership within the agnostic/atheist and evolutionist communities in dealing with the global decline of atheism and agnosticism.

See:

Agnosticism has become a fairly common belief system in Western culture with 14% of people in the United States, 32% of people in France and 35% of people in Great Britain self-identifying as agnostics.[6]

Per capita atheists and agnostics in the United States give significantly less to charity than theists.

See also: Famous agnostics

For more information please see: Agnosticism, obesity and self-esteem

According to the Gallup Organization, "Very religious Americans are more likely to practice healthy behaviors than those who are moderately religious or nonreligious."[12]

Gallup further declares:

Two of the major risk factors for becoming obese according to the Mayo Clinic are poor dietary choices and inactivity, thus it appears as if agnostics/non-religious may be more prone to becoming obese than very religious individuals.[14]

In the absence of any cultural, metaphysical, and scientific history, as passed from one individual to another, the default position is a 'seeking theism'. Atheism and agnosticism are, at best, merely self-preserving coping responses to others' personally existentially unsatisfactory claims to having 'found God'. In their strongest forms, atheism and agnosticism are, for the individual, comparable respectively to what communist dictatorship and regressive anarchy are for the society: the presence of ontological disharmonies between individuals motivating, for lack of a complete basic knowledge of the world, an oppressive civil structure and a randomly destructive lack of civil structure.

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Agnosticism - Conservapedia