# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/21 "2010-04-14T15:51:40Z")
I am the antithesis of a theist. I think. I put atheist, although I don’t attend services. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/22 "2010-04-14T15:59:04Z")
Atheist in that I don’t BELIEVE in a god. Agnostic in that I don’t KNOW if there is one. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/23 "2010-04-15T00:49:47Z")
I picked “antitheist,” only because I believe that, in both a global and a personal sense, religion has led to more evil than good. And if there really were a God, I’d probably not be one of his followers. That being said . . . I actually consider myself a “shrugnostic.” I started debating about God when I was 13, and I’m tired of it. The God/no God issue is no longer relevant to my life. ---
**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 15, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/24 "2010-04-15T00:57:07Z")
> [@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? Zeus? ---
**Author:** ![Spudo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Spudo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spudo)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/25 "2010-04-15T00:57:43Z")
I picked atheist, but honestly I don’t know if there are gods, or a god. If there are I don’t see any point in worshipping it, or them. Just looking at the world is enough for me to conclude that any deity is either indifferent, evil, or plays favorites for no discernible reason, so I suppose in that I’m an antitheist too. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/26 "2010-04-15T01:09:00Z")
I voted atheist, but I’m an apatheist: I don’t know if a supreme being exists, but I’m inclined to believe it doesn’t, and the answer is irrelevant anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/27 "2010-04-15T13:05:41Z")
Didn’t vote. Definitely Big-A Atheist, in that I know there is no credible evidence of the supernatural (including G/god(s)). And am comfortable that the supernatural is not needed to explain anything. Sure no reason to care for any of the ones I’ve heard of. And probably Antitheist, to the extent that I think the world would be better off if people engaged in a whole lot less magical thinking. But I prefer the term nontheist. In my opinion, god just isn’t all that interesting, and is entirely unnecessary. I personally don’t care to expend much thought or effort towards him/her/it/them in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/28 "2010-04-15T16:43:41Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > 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**. I picked atheist, but yeah, I’m a Buddhist. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/29 "2010-04-17T03:57:52Z")
An Evangelical Protestant Christian here. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/30 "2010-04-17T04:12:47Z")
Agnostic. Don’t know, don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/31 "2010-04-17T17:06:49Z")
In order of importance to my self-image: atheist, Buddhist, antitheist, misotheist. But I voted antitheist because it’s the kind of thing a misotheist would do when ignored on a poll… ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/32 "2010-04-17T17:57:23Z")
Depends on the situation, normal, mundane, everyday life, I’m an Atheist, if some religious-fanatic-bible-thumper starts getting confrontational, I switch to full-bore _ANTI_theist, and the gloves come off Thankfully, I haven’t had to deal with many fanatical busybody god-botherers ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/33 "2010-04-18T00:58:31Z")
> [@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. What if there only turned out to be $97.44? 🙂 _Enronism: The belief that God is great, God is good, but He’s a lousy accountant._ ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/34 "2010-04-19T17:19:19Z")
I’m an agnostic who believes in faith. I don’t think that the truth is knowable by anyone, but I also don’t think that’s the point: it’s all about faith. I happen to not have any, but I don’t think any less of those who do. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/35 "2010-04-19T17:28:30Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > it’s all about faith. I happen to not have any, but I don’t think any less of those who do. I wish more of them realized it was faith based though and spoke of it in terms of belief and opinion rather than fact. If someone says to me “I believe you’re going to hell since I think taking the lord’s name in vain is a sin” then that’s their business and I have no beef with them. If they say “You’re going to hell since you took the lord’s name in vain” then I do think less of them since they can’t seem to distinguish between fact and belief. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/36 "2010-04-19T17:30:40Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I am the antithesis of a theist. I think. I put atheist, although I don’t attend services. Reminds me of a (Paula Poundstone?) joke where she mentions she’s an atheist: “Well, I still go to church, I’m not a heathen! I go to an atheist church. Where we have people who testify that they were crippled, and they still are. It’s the only church in the world where ‘100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall’ is a hymn.” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/37 "2010-04-19T18:12:13Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > An Evangelical Protestant Christian here. Yes, but do you believe in god? 😃 > [@coffeecat](#): > > What if there only turned out to be $97.44? 🙂 He’d believe in an omnipotent, omnipresent God who didn’t own a calculator. ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/38 "2010-04-19T18:18:02Z")
I chose ‘agnostic’, but what I really meant was ‘this isn’t a big deal to me’. If pressed, I generally classify myself as ‘spiritually lazy’. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/39 "2010-04-19T19:31:04Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I wish more of them realized it was faith based though and spoke of it in terms of belief and opinion rather than fact. That’s a whole 'nother thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994/40 "2010-04-19T20:04:55Z")
> [@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? 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. That way lies madness, no pun intended. Quantum physics is weird enough that one might question one’s sanity in comprehending it but no one seriously suggests that you’re just hallucinating that books and scientists agree on this illogical-seeming configuration of the universe. That said if it were a one-time occurence, it would still be somewhat in doubt. If stuff like that happened on a regular basis, it wouldn’t turn me into a philosophical theist (I’ll always remain a philosophical agnostic,) but would convince me that there was a being powerful enough that most people in the history of the world would call it a “god”, if not “God”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-theist-agnostic-atheist-or-antitheist/535994.md?page=3)