I was raised catholic with catechism on the day of saturn / saturday and mass on the day of the sun / sunday. At 13 started doubting their bs and stopped attending mass. At 16 without having read marx, i came to the conclusion that religion was the opiate of the masses. Much later i was forced to go along with the jw way or face not seeing my children. Sad but i did it for the sake of our family. I still love my jw ex wife that didnt become a jw until the birth of our third child but she broke all the jw ways by being lured by two other jw males young enough to be her children. Knew of infedelity even amonst highest jw in the congregation. All they have to do is ask "god" to forgive their sins and "he" will do so. After all "god" sent his only begotten son "jesus" to die to clense our inherited sinfull ways by the creator that screwed up and made us imperfect ! Love that logic ! Thus hypocrisy is close to godliness ! Obvious from actions from some members of most religions. Before being forced into following the jw way, i asked a jw to define god. He defined god as boundless dynamic energy. If god is so defined then god is really the universe. I then deduce the son of "god" is our sun. The sun was worshipped centuries and thousands of miles apart by multiple civilizations then religions made the sun a male diety to make the sun more humanly pliable, retain control of the masses and assert male dominance because obviously god has to have a penis. So my current believe is that god is the universe. The sun of god is our sun. The third rock from the sun is our beautiful blue paradise on the planet we call earth. I occasionally pray to the universe that it spare our destruction by a rouge meterorite or an orange satan pressing the nuke buttons. Amen.

In my house, my husband and I do not discuss religion or politics. We each know how the other feels about certain things and we respect each others feelings. Those subjects don't have to be discussed. It really is that simple.

if he also has conservative and/or authoritarian tendencies, votes repugnican, etc...if you have options you may want to consider them. If instead he seems to understand and practice inclusive morality etc.(recognizing rights and identities of those different, like gay marriage, for example)...you may want to put up with it. There are a few good theists out there...but usually the brain that goes theist has some other judgment issues on unrelated things. That's the whole point. Of course nobody is perfect that's why I say you have to weigh the entire person. If they are reasonably psychologically healthy and able to function well in a committed relationship with you, that is worth something.

Well I sppose you both could die, see whose right, but you're right there is no empirical evidence of God or an afterlife. However I lean towards the idea that life, the struggles we go through, the heartache, the suffering, there has to be point to it all and there has to be something beyond the world we see, why every human, for the most part, has an innate desire to do good, at least when they're young. I know there's no proof of a God, but to me, at least, seeing the Good humanity can do and the desire for it, it drives me to believe there's something more and the suffering of mankind isn't for naught.

But more on your issue: If you two can't get along, maybe it's time to split or just avoid the issue, really depends on how much you two value the relationship compared to the disagreement on this point.

He doesn't really sound like an agnostic to me. He sounds like a theist with Christian leanings. Does he identify as agnostic? Or do you think he's agnostic, perhaps because he's less bible-thumping than others in your community? From what you described, he sounds to me to be pretty committed to a faith-based world view. That may or may not be a problem moving forward, but I think whenever value systems and world views diverge to a great extent it increases the likelihood that there will be conflict. Unless you agree to disagree and don't talk about religion, I'm not sure you can avoid a collision of ideas — in which case it really depends on the two of you and whether you're the sort of people who can disagree and then set aside the conversation for something less confrontational.

My wife is a non practicing catholic and believes in God . I am an atheist.We except each other’s beliefs but some times we will have heated discussions .In the 35 years of marriage I have actually changed her from believing in the catholic beliefs .The best thing to do is try to avoid the subject like I do and except the person for the good qualities and moral beliefs which have nothing to do do with religion ,God or non belief in God or religion

Leave him!

Agree to disagree at the end. Discussions don't have been disagreements, just a difference of opinion. He don't know he's right, hence being agnostic?

Everyone's missed the obvious answer. Tell him to go to Hell. LOL

Why argue... stay away from those conversations. Its one of those who knows the most and whose the dominant person with control issues. Dont play his game. Get your game going. Make a pac that your beliefs and his beliefs want be in the same conversation. All that special stuff goes away. Normal conversations are now the topic.

I am an Atheist and my soon to be ex is very spiritual and a believer in many GODS. When I told her I was an Atheist- she freaked. I explained my reasoning in a calm and measured way. Told her the bulk of the Holy Books are filled with glaring contradictions that cannot be rectified. Plus they were all written by guys and the final draft was more than likely not where they started. Calm, respectful and measured discourse is the only way to overcome these disagreements.

I think you have the answer yourself, right in your question. Agnosticism is a belief that we do not have the knowledge of the existence of god or the nature of god. "Knowledge" being the key world here, in my opinion. From what you are telling us, he doesn't only not have the knowledge, nor he is trying to discover the knowledge on the subject. He also leans towards Christian views (according to your statement). In my view, that is not agnosticism, that is ignorance. If he possessed the knowledge or logical explanation of his views there is something to talk about. He has a pre-programmed blind belief system due to his environmental upbringing. Its a system that is based on blind faith and does not encourage questions or self-discovery. Your first challenge would be to have a conversation about knowledge and the power of making informed educated decisions. You have to have the correct tools for the job. He has been given ineffective skill set. If he is not willing to take the time, hopefully, together with you, to dedicate to growing his knowledge bank, which will irreversibly effect his perception one way or the other, than he is not willing to grow mentally. Best is to start focusing on both sides of the information and have discussions, however he has to be willing to grow and expend his inside world. You have a tough road ahead. Good luck. Hopefully, what ever his beliefs are, they make him an overall happy and fulfilled person. If he is not, you have even a tougher road ahead.

get personal identifier tattoos..that way if ya grow senile together your won't forget yer chosen spiritchewall bearoacrassy lables...

Stop talking about religion and spirituality and agree to disagree.

Find a person who is also an Atheist. The first thing I find out when meeting a person is his/her position on God. If the person is a believer, I excuse myself (restroom / a phone call...) and I never return.
Yo start a relationship with a believer is not one of my goals.

It sounds to me like he is currently a theist with doubts, rather than an agnostic. I think the key in this situation is to ask questions and listen to the answers, in particular, “why do you believe that?” Why do you think the Bible is a good guide for living life? Are those things exclusively tied to religion? the goal between you should be to understand each other, not necessarily to persuade, but maybe through your conversations he will become more comfortable with letting go of faith in things that aren’t logical.

He has faith, something you don't or can't have. That's the only difference really. I would suggest not only listening to what he believes, but why... and he may not come out and say it, you'll probably have to read between the lines.

Like it or not though, you'll never be able to convince him there is no god, because he believes there is no evidence one way or another and he's correct. I'm an athiest, I don't believe there is a god, but I don't know that for sure, and I can't. There's simply not enough data backing up one theory or the other, so while I'm 99.9% positive there is no god, I could die tomorrow and meet that god face to face. He believes there is a god, and that there is no evidence on way or another. You believe there is no god and that's why there is no evidence. I'd concentrate on the similarities of the two theories rather than sticking to he's right or you're right... because you both are, and you both aren't. Be patient with him, he'll come around eventually lol.

I can only add my personal experience. I am not a complete unbeliever. I accept that it is not rational to retain a bit of Christianity, but it makes me feel good. I'm not praying, I'm not worshipping, but I do still define myself as a little bit (maybe 5%?) of a Christian.

Otherwise, I'm a polytheist, Buddhist, Christian agnostic. In order of precedence.

I know you want to talk to your significant other about these things. Is he on this site yet? Because it sounds like he hasn't found himself a balance to define his beliefs, and if he could, you might argue less.

That said, you don't have to determine who's right and who's wrong, and trying truly can only lead to tears.

I wish you well!

I really don't think it's an easy way. Bc, even though they have not read it, they believe it whole heartedly.

Doesn't sound like he's much of an Agnostic to me .. I think your problem arises from the fact that he is a X-tian and you are not.

If religion is the only obstacle in your relationship, I would say that you have something worthwhile and just avoid the subject.

I think you have to just agree to disagree and find other mutually satisfying topics: books, music, food, hobbies,sports, global warming or whatever. There are zillions of other things to talk about

He seems like a closet theist. Sadly it is a disaster waiting to happen and he may well like you for all of the reasons guys initially like girls, but when it comes to a long term meeting of the minds, well.... So I hope this is me just looking at the downside and actually it all works out for you. His answers are very suspicious though.....

First of all the boyfriend does not appear to be an agnostic. He is a believer who is trying to convince you to agree to his views, just as you would like him to be rational like you. If he unwilling to read anything, or listen to other rational approaches then you two either should avoid the topic and know that this would create some significant problems at difficult times in the future, e.g., when a loved one dies, etc. I cannot imagine, given the present scenario, that this is going to work out. It might be best for you to each take some time apart to re-think if this relationship is really best for the two of you. Or, if the two of you will agree to read each other's literature and discuss it openly, there might be a chance for your boyfriend to begin to think more rationally. But religion is a nasty kind of mental/emotional "virus" of sorts, and I don't think that your prognosis together is very favorable.

That is exactly my experience with very religious people. I just tend to state my disagreements but let bygones be bygones. I have learned with religious folk its better to play along with their shows and customs. I guess its obvious from the post, but most religious folk don't read or attempt to read. THey just have a belief they are 100% sure is true and everyone else should believe it too. I just approach it by stating its silly but from my view, but that i accept it as a statement from that persons emotional state. Or their beliefs are emotions disguised as beliefs about the supernatural. As its convenient to use something you can't use logic on, like emotions and the supernatural.