Atheism vs Agnosticism: What’s the Difference …

Studies have found that both atheists and agnostics are surprisingly knowledgable about a variety of religions. Which begs the commonly asked question: what is the difference between someone who defines themselves as atheist and a professedagnostic?

There is a key distinction. An atheist doesnt believe in a god or divinebeing. The word originates with the Greek atheos, which is built from the roots a-(without) andtheos(a god). Atheism is the doctrine or belief that there is no god.

However, an agnostic neither believes nor disbelieves in a god or religious doctrine. Agnostics assert that its impossible for human beings to know anything about how the universe was created and whether or not divine beings exist.

Agnosticism was coined by biologist T.H. Huxley and comes from the Greek gnstos, which means unknown or unknowable.

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To complicate matters, atheists and agnostics are often confused with theists and deists.A theist is the opposite of an atheist. Theists believe in the existence of a god or gods.

Like a theist, a deist believes in God. But a deist believes that while God created the universe, natural laws determine how the universe plays out.

Deists are often connected to Isaac Newtons clockwork universe theory, which compares the universe to a clock that has been wound up and set in motion by God but is governed by the laws of science.

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Religious or not, you likely say goodbye on a daily basis. But were you aware of the words holy history?

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Atheism vs Agnosticism: What's the Difference ...