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 | Agnosticism is not a religion or
complete ethical system. It is simply a belief that we cannot prove either
the existence or the non-existence of deity; (i.e. of one or more
gods, one or more goddesses, or combinations of the above). Many Agnostics,
sometimes called "Strong Agnostics" or "Positive
Agnostics"
believe that we can never know about the existence of a deity. Others, often
referred to as "Weak Agnostics"
suggest that we cannot know anything about deity or deities at this time
using the currently available evidence, but that this could conceivably
change in the future.
| ||||
| Apatheism: The term is a portmanteau -- a combination of two words 1 -- either "apathy" and "Theism" or "apathy and "Atheism." An Apatheist is a person who regards the existence of a God or supreme being as a relatively meaningless and irrelevant question. | ||||
| Atheism is also not a religion or a
complete ethical system. It has two main definitions:
| ||||
| The Brights: This is a recently created network of individuals who view the universe as "free of supernatural and mystical elements." Brights consist of a diverse community including: Agnostics, Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists, Rationalists, Secularists, religious skeptics, some Buddhists, Unitarian Universalists, Wiccans, Neopagans, and followers of other religions. | ||||
| Cosmicism is philosophy developed by H.P. Lovecraft based on the insignificance and helplessness of humans, the absence of a deity, and the existence of "powerful beings and other cosmic forces" that are completely indifferent towards humanity. 3 | ||||
| Ethical Culturalism: This is a movement founded in the U.S. by Felix Adler (1851 - 1933). He advocated replacing religious beliefs and codes with a secular ethic. | ||||
| Freethinking: This originally referred to persons who doubted the Trinity -- the concept that a Godhead existed -- a single entity composed of three persons: a Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Freethinkers supported the concept of a single indivisible deity. The term has since changed its meaning to include persons who reject religious beliefs in general. | ||||
| Humanism is a philosophy which in most cases embraces Agnosticism or Atheistic belief about the non-existence of a deity. But it goes further to create ethical systems based upon reason and logic. It regards humanity as the measure of all things. Humanists emphasize a belief in the importance of doing good in society. | ||||
| Nontheism (a.k.a. non-theism) is defined as the Oxford
English Dictionary as: "... not having or involving a belief in God,
especially as a being who reveals himself to humanity." The author Pema
Chödrön, when writing
about Buddhism, states:
"The difference between theism and nontheism is not whether one does or does not believe in God. ... Theism is a deep-seated conviction that there's some hand to hold. ... Non-theism is relaxing with the ambiguity and uncertainty of the present moment without reaching for anything to protect ourselves. ... Nontheism is finally realizing there is no babysitter you can count on." 4 | ||||
| Rationalism: This was a movement in the 18th century Protestantism that abandoned the idea of Biblical inerrancy and adopted the belief that the Bible can be analyzed as a historical document. Some Rationalists assert that the existence of some form of deity can be proven by reason. Others see Rationalism and Atheism as synonyms. | ||||
| Strong Atheism is a belief that no supreme being exists. |
About non-theists:
Many Agnostics, Atheists, Humanists and other non-theists have a negative attitude towards traditional formal religions. Some feel that:
| Reliance on an interaction with a mythical deity interferes with one's ability to interact with fellow humans. |
| Reliance on God's will, and expectations of an eternity spent in Heaven reduce our motivation to solve our own problems on earth. This leads to people neglect many social evils. |
| Theistic religions frequently promote the idea that perfectly natural feelings (such as anger, lust, pride, wanting things) are evil and sinful. But feelings are not normally under conscious control. The result can be debilitating feelings of guilt where none are justified. |
| Traditional beliefs are often supported by fear of eternal punishment after death and by fear of retaliation by an angry and vengeful god during this lifetime. To live in a state of fear is unhealthy and debilitating. |
According to a study by Barna Research:
"... roughly 7% of the adult population - approximately 14 million people - describe themselves as atheistic or agnostic. America has more atheists and agnostics than Mormons (by a 3 to 1 margin), Jews (by a 4 to 1 margin) or Muslims (by a 14 to 1 margin)." 5
They further found "that atheists and agnostics are dominated by:
| whites (71%), |
| men (64%), |
| adults under 35 (51%), |
| residents of the Northeast and West (56%)." |
In at least one area of life, they exhibit strong "family values". According to Barna Research, they have one of the lowest (if not the lowest) divorce rate of any religious group -- much lower than for conservative Christians, for example.
Useful books for non-theists:
| Corliss Lamont, "A Humanist Wedding Service," Prometheus Books; (1972). A 29 page booklet. Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store. |
| Corliss Lamont, "A Humanist Funeral Service," Prometheus Books; (1977). A 48 page booklet. Read reviews or order this book. |
| Jane Wynne Willson, "Funerals Without God: A Practical Guide to Non-Religious Funerals," Prometheus Books. (1991). Read reviews or order this book. |
References and notes:
- "Introduction," American Atheists, at: http://www.atheists.org/
- "Atheists and Agnostics Infiltrating Christian Churches," 1999-OCT-15, at: http://www.barna.org/
- "Deus" is a freethought philosophy and religion forum. See: http://deus.org
- The word "portmanteau" has two unrelated meanings: a word made up from two other words fused together, and a suitcase.
- "Cosmicism," Wikipedia, 2008-AUG-18, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
- Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart, Shambhala Publications, (2002) Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
Copyright © 1996 to 2008 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Last update and review: 2008-NOV-08
Author: B.A. Robinson
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