Understanding Atheism, Agnosticism and Theism….

Let’s start with theism….

Understanding Theism….

theism
/ˈθiːɪz(ə)m/

noun
belief in the existence of a god or gods, specifically of a creator who intervenes in the universe….

Basically, a theist is a person who believes in some form of socially accepted god and almost always belongs to one religion.

Theism can be primarily divided into two forms.

Monotheism

It’s a theistic system where one primary worshipped as the one-above-all.

For example:
christianity, islam

A monotheistic system has one poster boy.

For example:
The poster boy in christianity is Jesus Christ. Even though there are many other divine characters, everyone’s faith circulates around the ‘son of god’.

Polytheism

It’s a theistic system where more than one god or godly characters have equal or comparable importance.

For example:
hinduism, paganism

A polytheistic religion has multiple poster boys.

For example:
Not all hindus are fanboys of the same god. There are different sects based on which god they give the most importance to.

The common practice in theism is to accept the existence of the god(s) described in the religion one is born into as the true god(s) without question. But funnily, rejecting the gods described in other religions.

Understanding agnosticism….

agnostic
/aɡˈnɒstɪk/

noun
a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of god….

Basically, an agnostic person believes in the possibility of the existence of god but doesn’t trust in the concept of religion.

Unlike a theist, he doesn’t think god can be defined as in religions as a one or more true god(s).

Unlike an atheist, he doesn’t discard the possibility of the existence of god.

Hence agnostic persons generally don’t introduce themselves as a part of any religion.

But, at the same time they generally don’t reject or get out of any religion they were born into.

There are three types of agnosticism.

Strong agnosticism
“I cannot know whether a deity exists or not, and neither can you.”

Weak agnosticism
“I don’t know whether any deities exist or not, but maybe one day, if there is evidence, we can find something out.”

Apathetic agnosticism
“I don’t know whether any deity exists or not, and I don’t care if any deity exists or not.”

Understanding atheism….

atheism
/ˈeɪθɪɪz(ə)m/

noun
disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of god or gods….

Basically, a person who doesn’t believe in something whose existence can’t be proved.

An atheist hence by default doesn’t believe in or is part of any religion.

There’s no such thing as a ‘hindu atheist’ or a ‘muslim atheist’

People often confuse atheism with secularism. Secularism is about distancing religion from the law, not rejecting religion as a whole.

Hence, by default, all atheists are secular but not vice versa.

Atheists reject the concepts of god and religion as a whole and consider them ancient evils the world is better off without.

But atheists are not against people belonging to any religion in particular. This of course excludes the people who use religion as a tool to manipulate others and as an excuse for selfish and harmful endeavours.

Fun fact:
Everyone is born an atheist before being indoctrinated into the family religion at an age too young to understand it.

Want more…? Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/Si84h35fSq0