# Are you a Theist, Agnostic, Atheist or Antitheist? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994 "2010-04-13T22:49:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/1 "2010-04-13T22:49:26Z")
Four choices, pick one. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/2 "2010-04-13T23:00:37Z")
I am a theist. Baha’i, by ‘brand’, in case you care. My hubby is an atheist. Our oldest daughter (22YO) changes religions about as often as I change my underwear; our middle daughter (19YO) is Baha’i. Our youngest daughter (10YO) considers herself “Half Baha’i, half Christian”. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/3 "2010-04-13T23:26:57Z")
Atheist. Went to the Global Atheist Convention in Melbourne in March. Met Richard Dawkins. Spoke at length to AC Grayling. Heaps fun. Wonder where this is going and what you hope to achieve… ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/4 "2010-04-13T23:31:58Z")
Agnostic. IMHO, by definition, the existence or non-existence of a supreme being is going to be extremely tough to prove. I don’t believe in god(s) because I’ve never had any kind of experience that leads me to believe\*. I’m also not militant about it and I don’t think people who are religious are weak-brained nutjobs or anything like that. \*I’ll start to consider it if everyone suddenly sees the stars rearrange themselves to spell out “VALGARD, THIS IS GOD. THERE IS EXACTLY $104.56 IN THAT JAR OF CHANGE ON YOUR BOOKSHELF.” Yes, I’d count the change. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/5 "2010-04-13T23:52:31Z")
I feel like we’ve recently done a poll like this. I’m atheist and agnostic. I don’t believe there are any gods, but I also acknowledge that there’s no way to know if there are any because the definition of god is so clearly subjective. If there is some sort of god by the standard definition of my culture I don’t believe it’s possible to observe it so I might as well not believe it just like I don’t believe in monsters, fairies and dragons. I’m not antitheist but sometimes I do feel rather anti-Christian. Too many bad experiences. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/6 "2010-04-13T23:54:31Z")
Buddhist, so none of the above. Again, I picked agnostic as being closest. Agnostobuddhist. Buddhagnostic. I feel like I’m trying to come up with a character name. **Buddhagnostic the Fierce**. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/7 "2010-04-13T23:56:43Z")
Atheist and antitheist. I don’t believe in gods, don’t think believing in them is a good idea and would still oppose them if they were real. Or as I’ve sometimes semi-jokingly referred to myself, “Atheistic, antitheistic, and theocidal”. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/8 "2010-04-13T23:58:25Z")
I put theist, but oddly enough atheist would also be appropriate. I was raised atheist (or, more specifically, apatheist - my folks didn’t particularly care whether there was a god or not, it being irrelevant to their lives entirely), but had a few personal brushes with some sort of Thing Bigger Than Me, and a few experiences that taught me that yes, magic is a thing that is or can be real. I generally consider myself a very very lapsed Pagan. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/9 "2010-04-14T00:01:31Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > \*I’ll start to consider it if everyone suddenly sees the stars rearrange themselves to spell out “VALGARD, THIS IS GOD. THERE IS EXACTLY $104.56 IN THAT JAR OF CHANGE ON YOUR BOOKSHELF.” Yes, I’d count the change. Wouldn’t Occam’s razor suggest that you had cracked up? And how could you be sure? Wouldn’t you need a sign from God? “VALGARD, THIS IS GOD. YOU’RE LOSING IT. STOP COUNTING THE CHANGE”. Meanwhile everyone on 51 Pegasus 3 is barfing as the solar system keeps whipping through space. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/10 "2010-04-14T00:02:55Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Atheist and antitheist. I don’t believe in gods, don’t think believing in them is a good idea and would still oppose them if they were real. > > Or as I’ve sometimes semi-jokingly referred to myself, “Atheistic, antitheistic, and theocidal”. If you managed to kill a god, wouldn’t that bring your other philosophical beliefs into question? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/11 "2010-04-14T00:12:07Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > If you managed to kill a god, wouldn’t that bring your other philosophical beliefs into question? Rather the opposite. 😃 Believer: “How do you know there’s no God?” Me: " 'Cause I killed him. See? There’s his head in a jar." ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/12 "2010-04-14T00:16:49Z")
Theist – I believe there’s a god, but that’s about it. I GUESS I still have some of the vague, well, “traces” of my Catholicism. It’s hard to shed. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/13 "2010-04-14T01:31:04Z")
Theist, of the “roll your own” variety. Nothing brand name. Until you get beyond the simple level I think I have more in common with the atheists than with the typical theist. But I can’t stop arguing with existentialists, poststructuralists, and absolute determinists. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/14 "2010-04-14T01:31:31Z")
Since the poll only lets you pick one answer, I put atheist. I think I am both atheist and agnostic. Atheist - I wasn’t raised in any religion and I see to reason/evidence to believe there is a god so I don’t believe in any god Agnostic - agnosticism is a statement about _knowledge_ - I think it’s probably impossible to know either way if there is a god(s) or not - I can’t imagine any evidence that could definitely prove _or_ disprove the existence of god(s) ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/15 "2010-04-14T02:58:52Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Wouldn’t Occam’s razor suggest that you had cracked up? And how could you be sure? Wouldn’t you need a sign from God? “VALGARD, THIS IS GOD. YOU’RE LOSING IT. STOP COUNTING THE CHANGE”. Meanwhile everyone on 51 Pegasus 3 is barfing as the solar system keeps whipping through space. Note my criteria that everyone has to see it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/16 "2010-04-14T05:50:39Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Four choices, pick one. Why only 1? What if I’m 3 of them? Anyway, I’ll pick anti-theist (wrt the god of Abraham). ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/17 "2010-04-14T07:51:47Z")
So…strictly speaking, if I _believed_ in a God, but I hated and wanted to _kill_ him, would I be an antitheist but not an atheist? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/18 "2010-04-14T09:50:01Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > Note my criteria that everyone has to see it 😃 All very well, but how do you _know_ everyone saw it? - Because they tell you. But isn’t it more likely that you’re in the fool farm and everything you are experiencing is a delusion? If the existence of God is impossible, then any explanation of the phenomenon that does not admit of God’s existence must surely be likelier than any explanation that does. Theist, Christian, just been warned I’m about to lose the Internet connection… ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/19 "2010-04-14T11:19:55Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > All very well, but how do you _know_ everyone saw it? - Because they tell you. But isn’t it more likely that you’re in the fool farm and everything you are experiencing is a delusion? (snip) Buffy, wake up, we’re here for you. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/20 "2010-04-14T15:45:45Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > So…strictly speaking, if I _believed_ in a God, but I hated and wanted to _kill_ him, would I be an antitheist but not an atheist? Makes sense to me. I don’t believe in anything remotely akin to the authoritarian bombastic fellow described to me by lots of Bible-weilding theists when I was young, but if someone were to convince me that this entity really does exist as described (either in addition to or instead of God as I comprehend God), I’d then believe in this God but I’d be opposed to him. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994.md?page=2)