Atheism and Agnosticism
As long as we are on the subject of definitions, I would like to define to other words that are easily interchanged and, in this case used incorrectly.
Atheists and Agnostics are often grouped together – most often under the Atheist label – as being of one belief when it comes to the disbelief of God or gods. While they are similar, they are still different.
Again, I am using definitions from Wikipedia.
[A]theism is the absence of belief in deities, alternatively called nontheism.
Agnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims—particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of God, gods, deities, or even ultimate reality—is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism, inherently unknowable due to the nature of subjective experience.
Put simply, Atheists firmly believe there are no deities while Agnostics are either unsure about the existence of deities or believe that deities are unknowable.
It’s easy to see why interchanging these could lead to trouble and unintended insults.
When it comes to people’s systems of belief, many people can be very sensitive. Just imagine a Christian being called a Mormon or a Muslim being called a Jew. People are often proud of their beliefs. People choosing to believe there are no deities is still a belief and you shouldn’t be surprised if you get the name of their belief system wrong.
Given the similarity in both the titles and the range of belief, it’s understandable how these two can be mistakenly switched. However, if you expect people to know the correct title of your belief system, you should do the same for others.
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Picture from HubbleSite.org
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