Atheism/Agnosticism General Discussion #1

[suse]

I don't know that many people of faith would agree that prayer is simply about asking God to 'fix' things as such, and of having a passive approach to life, my understanding is that self-determination is recognised in most theistic faiths, hence the human capacity for free-will. (ETA: I'm happy to be corrected if this is not the case)

Being non-religious does not necessarily mean that you are agnostic or atheist though, and there are many people who have some form of faith without following an organised religion.

The principle tenet of agnosticism is knowledge, whereas the principle tenet of theism/atheism is belief. As a philosophical position rather than a statement of faith, agnosticism is independent to theism, in that one can follow a theistic doctrine or have belief in a god without claiming to have or wishing to have knowledge of the existence of that god. Although it at first seems contrary in nature, it can be argued that the very notion of faith is by definition agnostic - insofar as faith is belief without knowledge, and thus all theists are also agnostic.

Another good explanation of the agnostic position is this (from aboutatheism website):

Philosophically, agnosticism can be described as being based upon two separate principles. The first principle is epistemological in that it relies upon empirical and logical means for acquiring knowledge about the world. The second principle is moral in that it insists that we have an ethical duty not to assert claims for ideas which we cannot adequately support either through evidence or logic.

and

Agnosticism can be classified in a similar manner to atheism: 'Weak' agnosticism is simply not knowing or having knowledge about god(s) - it is a statement about personal knowledge. The weak agnostic may not know for sure whether god(s) exist but does not preclude that such knowledge can be obtained. 'Strong' agnosticism, on the other hand, is believing that knowledge about god(s) is not possible - this, then, is a statement about the possibility of knowledge.