I’m curious if there’s a name to the belief I have. I wouldn’t exactly call it atheist, though i generally lean that way, but I wouldn’t call it non-theist. The thing is, I just plain don’t care if God exists or not. They could, or they couldn’t, it really has no bearing on how I live my life. For that reason along I think I go in the atheist camp, but I always thought that was used to describe people who don’t think he exists.

  • DebatableRaccoon
    107·
    2 months ago

    I’d say YoFrodo’s answer of apatheism is possibly the closest you’re going to get, but speaking in general terms of not believing or caring one way or the other, you’d be agnostic, not an atheist. Atheism is the belief that there are no gods and out right rejection in the belief of any gods. Those saying you’re atheist don’t know what one is.

    • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
      134·
      2 months ago

      Atheism is the belief that there are no gods and out right rejection in the belief of any gods.

      No, not quite. Atheism is not believing in a god, it doesn’t mean you claim there is not a god. A subtle difference, but it is the difference between not believing, and believing not. Also, agnosticism isn’t a middle ground between theism and atheism, there is no middle ground, as it is dichotomous. Agnosticism speaks to knowledge, or what you claim to know. So, a person could be an agnostic atheist, or an agnostic theist.

      • DebatableRaccoon
        28·
        2 months ago

        Maybe look up atheism then try correcting your own comment instead of mine.

          • DebatableRaccoon
            11·
            2 months ago

            Sorry but it really is. Basic language (a)theism is the antithesis to theism, meaning non-belief. Otherwise, that’s what we have “agnostic” for. Like I said, correct yourself before someone who’s got more of a clue.

            • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
              1·
              2 months ago

              Theism is belief in a god, atheism is a lack of belief. Atheism is not necessarily a belief that god does not exist. Gnostic is about knowledge and not belief, which is why you can have an agnostic theist. Agnostic is not a middle ground between theism and atheism, there is no middle ground. I can correct you, but I can’t make you understand it.

              • DebatableRaccoon
                11·
                2 months ago

                And I can’t beat knowledge into the unreceptive, ignorant and assumptive, so I guess we’re at an impasse.

                • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
                  11·
                  2 months ago

                  Yes, I’m on one side, with dictionaries, etymology, and the majority of atheists, and you’re on the other side. I would agree with you but then we’d both be wrong.

                  Google:

                  noun: atheism. disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.

                  Gnostic - adjective. relating to knowledge, especially esoteric mystical knowledge.

                  Me:

                  Theism is belief in a god, atheism is a lack of belief. Atheism is not necessarily a belief that god does not exist.

                  Gnostic is about knowledge and not belief

        • Sidhean@lemmy.world
          21·
          2 months ago

          Maybe look up atheism then try correcting your own comment instead of theirs :)

          In all seriousness, I think your definitions are a few centuries out of date. It’s been drifting toward meaning a-gnostic instead of undecided. Contemporarily, it’s used to explain one’s believed level of knowledge on a claim. I can, for instance, be agnostic toward plate tectonics, and be made gnostic of them by evidence.