Reply to Re: FACT! the less religious countries are happier and more stable
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To quote a religious discussion from another site:
"(A)gnostic describes knowledge, (A)theist describes belief. All four combinations exist:
Agnostic theist is someone who isn't sure there's a god but believes there is
Gnostic theist is sure there's a god, and believes it (of course!)
Agnostic atheist isn't sure there's no god, but does not believe there is
Gnostic atheist is sure there isn't, and of course believes themselves
Gnostic describes knowledge (or claims of knowledge), theist describes belief. Words are fun!
EDIT: Atheist does NOT mean "believes there is no god". It means "Does not believe there IS a god". Which is an important distinction. The commonly used meaning of the word agnostic can be expanded to agnostic atheist. That is, somebody who isn't sure if there's a god or not, and doesn't have belief that there is ("I dunno!"). Lack of belief (atheism) is the middle ground, antitheism is the opposite to theism, believing there is no god. A gnostic atheist is an antitheist."
As such, Atheism is not a religion, it is a lack or belief. If you don't believe in anything, you are agnostic atheist. It's the gnostic atheists that most people think atheists are.
"(A)gnostic describes knowledge, (A)theist describes belief. All four combinations exist:
Agnostic theist is someone who isn't sure there's a god but believes there is
Gnostic theist is sure there's a god, and believes it (of course!)
Agnostic atheist isn't sure there's no god, but does not believe there is
Gnostic atheist is sure there isn't, and of course believes themselves
Gnostic describes knowledge (or claims of knowledge), theist describes belief. Words are fun!
EDIT: Atheist does NOT mean "believes there is no god". It means "Does not believe there IS a god". Which is an important distinction. The commonly used meaning of the word agnostic can be expanded to agnostic atheist. That is, somebody who isn't sure if there's a god or not, and doesn't have belief that there is ("I dunno!"). Lack of belief (atheism) is the middle ground, antitheism is the opposite to theism, believing there is no god. A gnostic atheist is an antitheist."
As such, Atheism is not a religion, it is a lack or belief. If you don't believe in anything, you are agnostic atheist. It's the gnostic atheists that most people think atheists are.
