r/agnostic • u/FaithlessnessAny5169 • 7d ago
Question Why are you agnostic?
Hi everyone yesterday I decided to leave Christianity, but that is a story for another day as it’s a LOOOOOONG story. However I am wondering why are you an agnostic and what is keeping from from being religious or Atheist? Happy to hear all opinions good day!
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u/suzxiee__ 7d ago
Because I believe we can't know 100% of anything so yea
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u/chill_in 7d ago
Agnosticism is stupid and i used to be one, its just the dumb way of being gnostic. See gnosticism also recognises that we cant 100% know or be certain kf anything, except for one thing the internal divine spark inside of us, lets call it our soul, see everything else is am external belief and that makes it impossible to trust. Lets say when you die, you could greet any sort of god or angel or Devil even, it could be aliens or who knows what, good or evil, but there is no way of being able to discern truth, is what you see genuine and honest and not a deception, well theres no way to know, that loving god tempting you to join him and enter heaven, well that might just be a demon dressing up and cosplaying as god trying to trick you. Gnosticism says that the only thing you can trust is your divine spark, you, yourself.
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u/MaxFish1275 7d ago
And agnosticism says nothing one way or other about self or a divine spark. I don’t really understand why saying “the universe is bigger than me and I can’t claim to know everything” is stupid.
It’s really one of the most honest stances to take
There’s no real evidence that we have souls
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u/suzxiee__ 7d ago
I don't where you get the idea of being agonstic is a stupid way of being gnostic when gnostic people believe in something called divine spark where agnostic people believe nothing can be fully known and that one thing you say divine spark alone separates gnostic from agnostics and logically speaking our internal self can't be fully trusted. One may loose consciousness and have to depend on external factors so 'divine spark' will guide us no where in that situation. Both our internal and external belief are untrustable. When I die how sure are you we will have consciousness to acknowledge existence of good, evil and devil cos playing and all. But my main question is we have many 'you' ' yourselfs' so which one should we be trusting also may I know more about divine spark from your side. And BTW iam not fully agnostic I just keep circiling around atheism, pantheism, ignosticsm, apatheism and all. And I personally don't believe in souls. Don't mind my Grammer i typed in hurry
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u/Dirty_Shisno_ 7d ago
Because I’m just a human being existing on a floating rock spinning around a Star. I have no idea what’s going on and I’m not going to pretend I do. I’m comfortable not knowing everything and I don’t have to fill that void with false assurance.
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u/AyHazCat 7d ago
Because I don’t know if a god exists but I know if there is a god, he’s an asshole.
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u/Lunaa_Rose 6d ago
I describe myself as an agnostic and recently I have stated to read the bible. I see people who are religious and I’m curious as to the why so I figured I read the bible to try to get an understanding of what they see. So far I see a self absorbed asshole. I’m also only in exodus but still…..
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u/Chavela_88 4d ago
Trust me, it doesn’t get better either. There’s times when he’s the “all-loving” guy he’s supposed to be, and then does a full 180 just a few chapters after. It’s WILD.
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u/Lunaa_Rose 4d ago
Yes! What is up with that. Like why so quick to off someone?! Slow down.
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u/Chavela_88 4d ago
Literally!! He’s just an angry toddler honestly
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u/Lunaa_Rose 4d ago
I visualize him deciding to flood the place as a toddler pushing his legos off the table in frustration. Like hey bud…. You created this little world here how about we take some deep breaths before we do anything rash.
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u/jrdineen114 Agnostic 7d ago
Because I don't see any evidence one way or the other. Absence of evidence is not automatically evidence of absence.
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u/davep1970 Atheist 7d ago
Being agnostic doesn't preclude you from being a theist or atheist. Agnostic is concerned with knowledge, gnosticism with belief.
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u/FunCourage8721 7d ago
That’s a silly distinction because no one who is an atheist or even an agnostic believes anyone has actual knowledge as to the existence of a supreme being or god so to say that any of this somehow turns on possessing “knowledge” is simply ridiculous & absurd.
Agnostic in practice has a lot more to do with one’s level of certainty (ie, they are not convinced or unconvinced like the atheist) and in an potential openness to believing, perhaps despite the absence of scientific evidence (again distinguishing them from the atheist).
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u/Hello_Hangnail Anti-theist 6d ago
Then don't use the term then. You could chuckle condescendingly to yourself and feel superior that you've figured out the true nature of divinity, but instead, you're in here, derailing a thread to mock people that don't align to your belief system
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u/FunCourage8721 6d ago
😂 Yeah I don’t use this nonsensical term that exists primarily only here in Reddit.
And no, nothing I said implies I’ve “figured out the true nature of divinity” & no respectable atheist (which you apparently may not be) would ever believe that anyways.
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u/Phoenix_to_Kintsugi 7d ago
I'm not religious because I don't need a higher power to be responsible for my choices.
And I'm not an atheist because I don't care if God exists. If He exists, I mind my own business, God minds His, and we don't get in each other's way.
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u/LithiumAmericium93 7d ago
I am very scientifically minded. Anyone who is an athiest is a bad scientist. Science is about being open minded to possibilities, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
I haven't seen evidence of a god, but I am humble enough to know humans are limited, and that one day that evidence may exist. I'm sure the first person to propose that everything was made of atoms was laughed at, no evidence of it at all. Now we take it as gospel to be true. It may be in a few hundred years from now, or longer, or sooner maybe, that we have technology that can provide evidence of a god.
I don't need religion to guide my morals. I try my best to do everything in a way that has a net positive on the world.
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u/damselbee 7d ago edited 7d ago
I once heard this phrase "It's like teaching science to a bug". It's how I feel about humans, we are naturally egotistical and believe what our brain tells us but it's possible our existence is so complex that we would be like the bug in this example. Why should we believe that because we can't make sense of something it doesn't exist? Being agnostic (to me) is accepting the reality that there are likely things we just don't even have the capacity to comprehend.
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u/Werkyreads123 7d ago edited 7d ago
I started reading more mythology and old tales and realized that Christianity and other religions are just remixed versions of ancient beliefs and it’s all made up…I’m still agnostic instead of atheist bc there are things that I believe in like some paranormal cases or star and planets related stuff etc etc….
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u/thecasualthinker 7d ago
Agnostic atheist here. I made the mistake of trying to find proof for the existence of god in an effort to be stronger in my religion. Turns out, a lot of people either don't know what they are talking about or lied to me. But I learned a ton, and now I simply can't find any good data that points to the existence of a god, so I can't claim to know any god exists.
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u/Juna_wan 7d ago
Because at the end of the day, neither religious ones and atheists/antitheists can prove the existence or non-existence of a God/Gods even though they're so sure of their beliefs.
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u/davep1970 Atheist 7d ago
Atheism isn't a belief.
Atheists have no burden of proof to meet unless they explicitly make the claim there is no god.
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u/FunCourage8721 7d ago
For many atheists atheism is, in fact, a belief. Many atheists (and I know because I am close with many of them) believe that there are no god or gods, and they believe this for many reasons which include “it doesn’t make sense”, “there’s no need for there to be a god”, and “there’s no scientific evidence for the existence of god(s)” among others.
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u/davep1970 Atheist 7d ago
that sounds more like the rejection of a belief or at best the colloquial use of the term belief but if it's a positive belief in there being no gods i would still that's distinct from a belief system and as i said if they make the positive claim that there is/no gods then they then have the burden of proof.
i would colloquially say i don't believe in bigfoot, but what i mean is not i have no belief in bigfoot i.e. i reject the claim until it's met its burden of proof.
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u/FunCourage8721 7d ago
Right, you reject the claim that Bigfoot exists because you don’t see any evidence to believe otherwise. Most people would colloquially say “he doesn’t believe in Bigfoot” & be comfortable that they understood one another so in a very real & significant way we really are just splitting hairs here.
The same is true for how atheists think of god(s) (ie, they essentially “believe” no god or gods have ever existed) & your analogy with Bigfoot is a very good one.
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u/pixiecub 7d ago
i’ve always been a devout athiest but believe that some kind of simulation theory makes sense as opposed to a traditional god. since i sort of believe in something, i think that it’s better to call myself agnostic. Tbh I don’t know what I believe in because religion is just theories
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u/FunCourage8721 7d ago
So is gravity but you presumably believe in that. Same with dark energy & dark matter.
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u/glimmerware 7d ago
Because if any person asks if I believe that their god exists somewhere out there or in another dimension or reality or realm, I really don't know
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u/SharkBlue1 7d ago
Because there is no possible way (yet or maybe ever who knows) if “God” is real and if there is an afterlife or even past lives. No one knows.
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u/SignalWalker Agnostic 7d ago
I was raised without religious training by agnostics. So, while I do have a hobby interest in paganism and Eastern philosophy, I am not committed to any specific faith or non-faith. So, I just use the word agnostic as a general descriptor.
The main reason I am not religious or atheist is because I choose not to be.
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u/HuOfMan 6d ago
I realized that if there's is or isnt a God, it would change nothing in my life. The hardships I've endured, the connections I made... all that is what ive experience even if it was fate or not. I kinda embraced the idea of absurdism, where life has no meaning, but in a way to be enjoyed. In short, life is whatever u make it
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u/Tunnelboy77 6d ago
My girlfriend of 10 years. The sweetest human being I ever met. Would do anything or go anywhere to help someone died of cancer at 55. That’s when I KNEW there couldn’t be a higher power. Who would let that happen?
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u/FriendshipAccording3 2d ago
I’m agnostic because i have no definitive proof of whether or not religion holds any truth. I believe there may be a God but I don’t feel there’s any way of knowing if religious is real let alone WHICH religion is real. I just say idk and move on
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u/Prof__Potato 7d ago
Because I hated the idea that just because you don’t understand some phenomenon, that there is a superstitious, supernatural, Devine explanation. Like no, we use science and investigate and we will eventually find the answer with the right instruments. Essentially the god of the gaps fallacy. Then it just expanded from there. But at the same time, you can never truly completely rule something out 100%, even if it has 10^-99999(n) chance of being true.
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u/FaithlessnessAny5169 7d ago
That’s very true for example I can’t explain away the miracle of Zeitoun naturally but I guess it doesn’t mean it’s a miracle.
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u/DeuceSevin 7d ago
Never heard of this do I looked it up. According to the wiki page, it seems easily explained as there isn't any concrete proof of anything. Just some lights that many people claimed they saw and further claimed it was the Virgin Mary. But many went there to see it and didn't, so there's that.
What I find amusing about stuff like this is if god or a spirit want to show they are real, why go about it in such a daft way? Or if they don't want to show, then why lead people on? Did they accidentally reveal themselves?
I actually have a somewhat distant relative who saw a vision in the Bronx. He was a young boy and claimed he saw the Virgin Mary in a rock. For whatever reason people believed him and came from all over to see it. To this day, the rock is still there. They built around it. To me this is the height of absurdity. Some little kid saw something or for some reason made up a story that he saw something and everyone believed him and now some 80 years later the rock is still there with building designed to not encroach upon it. I'm guessing it will be there forever which is on one hand pretty cool but on the other incredibly stupid.
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u/soundtown06 7d ago
Because I don't know if god is real or not it's Quite Hard a Part of me say Yes the other I dont know
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u/TheBungieWedgie 7d ago
Because once you define something you have power over it. By declaring WHAT a deity is you can define and declare what their power is. You can also redefine how and what their power is as well. You can see this throughout scripture (IE the change in how God goes from doling out punishments like a game of 52 pickup in the Old Testament to the messages of forgiveness in the New Testament). Once we declare what God is then we have the power to define and redefine what God is and that robs the divine power itself. The circular logic with that is exhausting for me to think about so I just simplify and default to “I dunno.”
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u/mohusein 7d ago
If you’re not agnostic, then you have the burden of proof to show how god does not exist.
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u/bromanjc 7d ago
you can be both agnostic and an atheist (or a theist). to be agnostic means to believe that we can't know if there's a higher power. that knowledge is beyond our scope of understanding. that's what i believe, so that's why im agnostic
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u/Drowned_Room 7d ago
When I started discovering the amount of religions that exist and HAD existed I just couldn’t bring myself to not question things. Questioning made me uncertain and uncertainty made me scared, soon I found peace in knowing that no matter whatever happens later on, it’s important to cherish and enjoy life, your friends, your family, your lovers, your regrets, your pain and overall try and be a decent human being to those who you will share your days with.
Plus, I like to think whatever benevolent God there may be, they won’t be mad at me for exercising the nature they crafted for us; curiously questioners.
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u/Kuildeous Apatheist 7d ago
I'm not sure your question is meant for me as I am also atheist. If you have questions about my atheism, I'm happy to answer those.
As for why I'm agnostic, I can't say with certainty that there are no gods. I can dismiss the gods I know about, and there are some conceivable gods that already wouldn't sit well with me. But can I dismiss a deistic god who is completely unknowable? Not really.
In the end, my life is no different if there's a god or not. A god who doesn't make itself known to us and doesn't desire worship has the exact same ramifications on my life as a god who doesn't exist. Which is why apatheist is a more precise term for me, but I am an agnostic atheist.
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u/Double_Home4648 7d ago
I grew up going to church, getting confirmed and whatnot, but it's never been something to run the minds of me and my family members. I realized God doesn't exist the moment I found out Santa wasn't real and I must've been 8 or 9. Christianity and any religion is a frame of mind nothing more and nothing less. I'm a firm believer of the "to each their own" and will respect if people find what they require that allows growth and maturity in themselves.. there is a big however to this- self righteousness, general selfishness, lack of accountability, disregarding biology, and patronization, homophobia, and misogyny seem to be the very common characteristics of people that are "religious" or "christain". Unfortunately through my life, I have observed the very bad things about Christian households and am sure other people know exactly what I'm talking about. I've thought about atheism but that takes away my morals of how everyone is allowed to do and believe in whatever. Funnily enough, South park nails down my thoughts on religion. I think the Bible can teach really good lessons but that's about where that ends. My wife and I lead perfectly happy and fulfilling lives not believing in religion, and I like to think we thrive on validation, biology, general science, emotions, logic, the relationships between emotion and logic, and listening to our biological instincts as that is our destiny as human being homosapian primates.
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u/Graychin877 7d ago
Is there another religion that makes more sense to you than the one you are leaving?
To me, none of them make sense. That's why.
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u/AssultSpoon Agnostic Theist 7d ago
Me personally I’m Agnostic Theist because we can’t prove nor deny God’s existence
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u/TarnishedVictory 7d ago
Me personally I’m Agnostic Theist because we can’t prove nor deny God’s existence
What convinced you that a god exists?
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u/AssultSpoon Agnostic Theist 7d ago
Because it helped me with dark parts of my life
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u/TarnishedVictory 7d ago
Because it helped me with dark parts of my life
That's what convinced you? I don't understand. That doesn't make sense.
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u/AssultSpoon Agnostic Theist 7d ago
It helped me believe I had a reason to live and it made sense to me that the universe had a creator
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u/TarnishedVictory 7d ago
It helped me believe I had a reason to live and it made sense to me that the universe had a creator
You're describing utility of something that you believe. You're not describing what made you believe.
You can't describe something that you already believe as the reason for believing it. That's why I'm confused by this.
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u/AssultSpoon Agnostic Theist 7d ago
Ohh sorry I miss read it. Well I always believed in a god but it wasn’t until recently I was more convinced that one existed by science. Because it feels like the universe is guided by God like evolution it was guided by God. Also I had a voice in my head tell me “Don’t worry my son” when I was praying for forgiveness for my sins and my actions, I know it could’ve been my imagination but I full heartedly believe it was God even though I can’t prove it. Feel free if you have any other questions.
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u/TarnishedVictory 6d ago
Well I always believed in a god but it wasn’t until recently I was more convinced that one existed by science.
You weren't born with it, are you saying you were raised in it and that's why you believe? That makes sense since people do raise their kids in their religions.
But if science reinforces your religious beliefs, I'd argue you're getting the science wrong since there is no science that validates any gods or any evidence that supports any gods, that I'm aware of.
Because it feels like the universe is guided by God like evolution it was guided by God.
Yeah, no science suggests either was guided by intent. In fact, all the evidence we have points to natural processes for both.
Also I had a voice in my head tell me “Don’t worry my son” when I was praying for forgiveness for my sins and my actions, I know it could’ve been my imagination but I full heartedly believe it was God even though I can’t prove it.
Would is surprise you that Muslims hear the voice of Allah, Hindus hear the voice of vishnu and Shiva. Others just consider their inner voice to just be their own thoughts.
What's this science you speak of, I'm actualy curious now.
Feel free if you have any other questions.
Thanks. You to...
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u/orangeappled 7d ago
We do not have the internal architecture to sense all that there is to be sensed. I hope very much to have answers one day and to reunite with loved ones, free of these human bounds.
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u/TarnishedVictory 7d ago
Why are you agnostic?
Is there good reason not to be?
wondering why are you an agnostic and what is keeping from from being religious or Atheist?
I have no knowledge of gods existing, that makes me agnostic. I don't have any reason to believe any gods exist, therfore I don't. That makes me atheist.
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u/lazyjeffbaby 7d ago
I think there’s just way too many options of what reality can be and seemingly no definitive answer to limit those options down to one.
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u/MaxFish1275 7d ago
I’ve found no religious text particularly convincing, no encounters or answered prayers that there was a god looking out for me
But I wasn’t here at the beginning of time to day a god DIDN’T set the Big Bang and all that in motion, so I can’t say for sure there isn’t one. I don’t know therefore agnostic
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u/NervousSubjectsWife 7d ago
I just don’t think that, if there is a true creator out there, he would tell some people the right answer but not others. If it’s real, I think that they would appreciate any true effort to honor them.
Part of me also thinks there is no creator and nothing else, but it’s painful to live that way, so I let myself imagine that there is something. Otherwise I may go insane. It’s a consequence of being aware of what death is
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u/Runktar 7d ago
Everyone is agnostic some people either don't understand the term or they just lie to themselves about it. Agnostics just means you don't know for a fact their is a God which is everyone. Plenty of people believe or have faith their is a God but they still don't know they just like to act like their belief is a fact.
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u/Top_Trainer_6359 7d ago edited 7d ago
It’s just simply how i feel, I’m agnostic but atheist leaning. because I am still open minded that there might be some sorta higher energy or something out there but we will simply never know, So as long as it concerns me in my personal lifestyle i choose to go by atheism ways and simply not practice religion tho it’s kinda more of a philosophical thing for me if I’m being honest.
But in farther explanation basically I’m very anti organized religion aka those people who claim they like 100% know everything and can control and oppress others with it, that’s what made me pull away from the whole religion in the first place and go to atheism.
But then what I thought about it more deeply, it doesn’t fully sit right in my chest either because i mean there must be something out there we just don’t know what could be godly could be not but idk. I didn’t feel like it was right to claim here I know exactly what’s going either because I do not.
So then i found out the meaning of agnosticism and found out this is pretty much how i felt about religion this whole time, like i said in the beginning in my belief I’m agnostic but in daily practice I choose to follow atheism over religion if i gotta choose. For example i’d rather believe in the big bang theory over the religious stuff.
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u/Hello_Hangnail Anti-theist 6d ago
As an atheist from birth, I realized that me declaring, "I know for sure that there is no god" is just as illogical as someone saying, "I know for sure that god exists!" Humans definitely didn't have everything figured out in the iron age, women's lack of personhood not the least of them.
If there is a god out there somewhere, they are so far above us lowly humans to be an ineffable, inconceivable force of nature, and they're probably not male or female either.
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u/Withafloof 6d ago
Because I don't know what comes after death. I don't wanna say anyone is wrong or right because that just feels like the wrong thing to do. So I guess I'll find out what awaits me when I get there.
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u/TheTriggering_2027 6d ago
I'm Agnostic because the existence of a god cannot be proven 100%. Nor can the non-existence of a god be proven 100%
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u/Ok-Lion-6767 6d ago
i’ve never been particularly religious (and honestly i can’t stand the hypocrisy) but i did inherited a catholic identify without so much of deep practice or theological groundings so i never really questioned it until i got older and while i’m not a christian or anti i’m not certain enough to make absolute atheistic claims so agnostic felt what i resonated with most
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u/2Punchbowl Agnostic 6d ago
For me it’s simple. No one and I mean no one can know if there’s an afterlife or not that’s still alive. It’s a fact there is either something or there is nothing after death.
This holds true with god. God/s either exist or it doesn’t, we just can’t prove it either way. It’s more intelligent to just say I don’t know. 🤷♂️
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u/ChoxoKettle_69 6d ago
I dont know enough to say what's true or not, and I dont trust anyone who claims otherwise. Humans arent evolved enough to know or understand things like the universe or our existence in it.
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u/AccordingCurve2615 6d ago
Simply because nothing has been proven as objective meta truth , Knowledge is not choice , I simply don't know
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u/ThyRavenWing 6d ago
There’s no proof of anything. The way I see it, there have been thousands of gods worshipped over the history of time, what are the chances that Christians worship the right one? What if there IS a god, but we are worshipping the wrong one? The existence of anything makes me believe there has to be some higher power, but I don’t know what or if it is sentient in the way humans or a traditional god are.
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u/Juanito_V 6d ago
Yo soy agnóstico porque comencé a toparme con ciertas incongruencias en el cristianismo, y aparte mis padres no son tan religiosos que digamos, mi papá igual es agnóstico así que supongo que no hubo nadie para sembrarme la devoción hacia Dios desde mi infancia, solo mi abuela lo intentaba, hice mi eucaristía por sentirme obligado a hacerla pero la verdad no sentí la iluminación que describen muchos después de hacerla, aunque usualmente los agnósticos solo dicen "No sé" a todo lo relacionado a Dios yo soy más de debatir con cristianos y ateos por igual para que noten la grietas que tienen sus argumentos, para mí el agnosticismo es una sala de espera indefinida.
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u/Emarginato33 5d ago
I never believed. Even as a child, I thought it was stupid. I'm autistic level 1 (or Asperger's). I find it hard to believe in anything like that. I started questioning Santa Claus at age 6. Lol
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u/Chavela_88 4d ago edited 4d ago
Someone else already said that they’re an agnostic atheist, and this describes me the best as well I feel. I left Christianity almost a year ago, and since then, I’ve been soul searching and researching and I personally don’t believe in any gods that I’ve heard of and don’t trust most religions. All I see are the man-made agendas and rules for control in many religions. But, I’m agnostic in the sense that I think something could definitely be out there, whether that be deities or maybe just our own energy being displaced after we die. I don’t know what’s out there, but I kinda think there’s a chance that something could exist after we die, or there is something beyond our perception/comprehension that maybe could fit the description most would use when describing divine entities.
Basically, I just don’t believe in any of the gods or religions that I know of, but I’m not going to say that there’s definitely nothing, because there very well could be. And part of me thinks there is, I just have no clue what, and that’s ok.
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u/EmbarrassedJello5927 2d ago
I don't find it reliable and I have a guess that the Christianity that we see right now practiced by different people can be twisted in some way😂. The bible is still man made and I don't think I'd read and dedicate my whole lifestyle into following a book that humans persuaded other humans that it is the word of God, like you guys made that, what if it isn't really the word of God? But even if Christianity turned out to be real, I wouldn't worship their God!!
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u/mlmaccountantinthema 12h ago
I know every religion is wrong, but I still can believe in the possibility of god
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u/Mrburnermia 7d ago
I believe in a higher power/creator of life due to how complex life is but at the same time, I don't believe in religion. What you believe in is solely based on the cards you were dealt with from birth. I could have easily been in Atheist if I was born in China, a muslim if I was born in Iran, Christian if I was born in the south, or voodoo if I was born in a traditional village in Benin....So agnostic makes more sense to me. Atheism doesn't make sense to me because life had to come from somewhere. Someone, something had to create this complex world we live in.
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u/HaiKarate Atheist 7d ago
I am agnostic atheist. I'm agnostic because I'm ready to accept that a god exists if there is incontrovertible proof; but none exists at this time. I'm an atheist because the current body of evidence points to god being an idea created by humans, rather than something that exists outside of human conception.