I choose to go by Atheist simply because it is more clear to those who are less knowledgeable than you, and many others on this site. Both terms fit most of us because strong disbelief in the existence of a god and one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of or a god are not mutually exclusive. I really doubt there is a god, to the tune of less than 1%, but I cannot say it is zero and so here we are. Many would have a similar stance with some degree of movement on the %. Others just don't care enough involve math. Either should be accepting of the other.

I have always looked at religious and atheist as 2 sides of the same coin...both require faith...1 faith that there is a god and the other faith that their is no god. I have always seen agnostic as more of a middle ground, where faith isn't involved, but believing on what there is proof for and what might be a possibility, but yet unproven.

Personally, I think that claiming to be certain there is no God or similar supernatual deity is as arrigant and intellectually dishonest as claiming there is one (while I will agree that if there is such a deity, he/she/they have yet to be defined by any holy text or religious teaching).
As for the dogma of religion, I consider myself an anti-theist as well as an atheist since I see the harm of religion and religious dogma which does not mean that I support forcing people to leave their faith as that would not only be unethical, but counter-productive. I could care less about how religious the general public let alone an individual is, I would just want them to accept the teachings of science, learn to think critically, and keep their religion out of schools and impressionable children.
As for the original question you posed, I think considering yourself an agnostic means that you can't say one way or the other whether or not there is a God while being an atheist means you lack belief. I do not think that the terms are mutually exclusive either as you mentioned previously.

I don't know if this muddies the waters but I have simple definitions of both. Agnostic deals with what someone knows, Atheist deals with what someone believes. I am an Atheist because I do not beleive in God. Cheers

The real debate about how a person is lies with how they hang toilet paper. XP

Just kidding, people seriously need to chill. I’ve known so many “flex atheists” who are “agnostic” in public because of the connotation of atheist.

Even on the scale you can have gnostic and agnostic religious and unreligious people... I’m faiiiirly sure the site even defines the words to stave off this in-fighting.

Personally, fully agree the Ibrahamic god is fake as shit, some cultures deify natural things. Shintoism worships some trees that they believe house spirits. Do I -not- believe in trees? No, they’re there. Do I deify them? No, no I do not. My ‘doubt’ is in the interpretation. Though, at the same time that concept that you can deify yourself with enough people buying into your ego is pretty damn niche cool.

^_~ Live and let live, do no harm and take no shit!

xoxo

Meh, I’m trying to figure out how to save you rant. Good shit.

This is recycled from the past. Months ago. What's going on here?

This is great and very thought provoking! Thank you for taking the time to spell out your concerns about terminology and how people define themselves. It really is crazy how twonwords can carry so many different meanings for different people. For me, until this post at least, I’ve always seen myself as an atheist per the dictionary definition listed (this after far too many years stuck in Christianity). This post has made me think a lot about what I actually think and feel about religions, not just the one. I think, for the time being at least, I still remain in believing myself an atheist, but perhaps with agnostic tendencies (if that’s even possible- I don’t know). I will say this though- for me, even if a god, lets use the Christian god for this example, were proved to be real right now, I still would not follow it. If a god is supposed to be all powerful and loving, how can it let all these terrible things happen to people it claims to love. It either doesn’t have the power it claims, or it is not the loving being it claims to be. Either way is unacceptable and I’d much rather go to whatever hell it would send me to than worship it.

well, by your definition, you're an agnostic, and that's what you call yourself when pressed for a label, which i understand is sometimes annoying. mazel tov! you appear to understand the difference and you appear to have chosen the more accurate term for yourself. further, you've managed to do it without calling atheists arrogant for pretending to know the unknowable, or intimating that agnostics are timid or uncommitted and should probably just shut up, or comparing atheism to a religion because the word "believe" sometimes pops up in a sentence, or pretending the two words are completely synonymous. that's unusual here! i am (among many, many other things, while still not being a thing) an atheist, myself. nice to meet you!

g

The big division which really counts, is between holding groundless belief or not, the niceties within scepticism are tiny and unimportant compared with that. Some may think that they are on a higher rung of the ladder than others, and that may be true, but the really important thing is to have looked up and started the climb out of the cesspit of ignorance and prejudice which is blind unquestioning , looking at the light and not swimming nose down among the sludge where the users want to keep you. Therefore it is cruel and unfair to despise those who can not climb quite as fast, or use a different ladder, and for that reason I always call myself a 'Broard Church Sceptic.'

Awesome post thank you for clarifying this and it resonated with me so much

I like to use the word freethinker when around christians. It seems to confuse them and keeps their hate at idle for me to escape. When I use the word agnostic I get the comeback question Atheist?
For the same reasons I avoid using the word gun so as not to be labeled killer.
You see I just don’t like Fucking Labels but just for addressing letters as (snail) .

I'm an Atheist because I believe in zero gods.

I'm an agnostic because I have no knowledge of a God.

Edit

The fact that lots of people thing that agnosticism is a middle ground, or a lack of decision about belief is huge.
As far as I see the agnostic refuses to believe, an agnostic wants to know, and if the question can't be answered he/she won't choose an answer by gut feelings.
For philosophical reasons I consider myself agnostic or even ignostic (where I question even if there is a coherent question or definition of good before a decide about answering the existence question), but for all practical actions and decisions, I will act as if there is no divinity, so no practical day-to-day difference from an atheist.

BUT.
A lot of new age, exoterics, mystics and undecided people claim the agnosticism, and much of this fight between atheists and agnostics are due to this group that in the strict sense are religious.

My toughs about agnosticism is:
I recognize that I don't need to assume a position about a question that can't be answered with evidences. And I will act on the premises of the questions that I can answer.

Really

Agnosticism is about FACTS - can't verify them.
Atheism is about BELIEF - concluding there aren't enough facts to believe God exists.

I think all atheists are also agnostic, but someone who is agnostic may not be atheist if he/she believes (however unlikely) that God exists.

It was worth reading to the end
I enjoy a well written rant.
-mat

I consider myself an agnostic theist. I believe there is a "higher power" but don't believe I'm in possession of enough evidence to define that power. I don't think the power is an intelligent being who divvies out favors based on who prays the most eloquently or demonstrates the most piousness, but a force like gravity or inertia that follows measurable laws and offers consistent results.

It's really quite simple. Gnostic and agnostic refer to knowledge. Atheist and theist refer to belief. The two terms neither contradict nor mutually exclude each other.

Perfect (in my opinion)!!!! Thank you silvereyes so much for writing what I've been saying (or at least screaming inside my head) for decades, especially the parts about hating labels.

Call me anything you like, just don't call me late for supper ?

I am with you. I can be both atheist and agnostic depending on the day. For the most part I am atheist but some times I wonder the possibility of some greater power. Often when I do I come to the conclusion that if there is some great creator our universe is likely a child's ant farm in our perspective, bought at Wal-Mart as a birthday present and exciting at first then forgotten.

In a sense, everyone is agnostic in a way, even religious people because even if they claim to know there is a god they dont. Lol. I'm Athiest because I don't believe there is a god. I'm am a trillion times sure there is no abrahamic god but just like everyone else in the world I don't know if there is a god of some type or not. I just believe there isn't any type of god. So I claim atheism.

I find your thesis interesting. I find, however, a very simple way of understanding the term atheist. Like in the term asexual... non sexual, I am non theist. Not so different from your definition for agnostic... With the difference that I do not admit to any all powerful all knowing loving or vengeful god as is defined by anyone I ever heard try. Was there a beginning , and will their be an end to the universe as we understand it? Surely. The universe may have been remade and destroyed uncountable times. I just can not find any room for a self aware being in control of it, willing it to be. Atheist= a non=theist. Agnostic, one who states they are not sure. I called myself an agnostic for years, primarily because of my then wife's family, who were somewhat devout Catholics. That was dishonest though. I do not admit to some god or gods that I simply do not have the evidence for yet. This, I am an a-theist. I'm not terribly antitheist... though that would probably be true as well. Simply because I do not care what most of the world thinks. As a journalist, I am interested in words and how they came to the current meaning we give them. I'm no wordsmith, hardly! I am (was) a photojournalist, but I had to write also. I sucked at English and writing, until I learned that spelling and the names of the parts of a sentence weren't really what writing was about. (Or English as a subject in school) I find your thesis above both thoughtful, and insightful. An interesting combination for one so young as yourself. Get up on your soapbox when ever the mood strikes you!

That is a good read. youre very intelligent. after reading what you said in your bio or whatever you call that. I guess im a little of both. I guess i am open to believe if the evidence presents itself