Uploaded June 2013 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Is agnosticism becoming a 'Get Out of Atheism Free' card? Are atheists alienating non-believers by their conduct?
Links below:
I've canvassed several friends recently, none of whom have any religious inclinations, about where they stand on the religious/atheist debate. The most I could get (and only from one or two) was something along the lines of, 'I suppose I'm an atheist, but I wouldn't call myself that because I don't want people to think I hate religion or have anything against religious people'.
Others had no idea what agnosticism was, but on reading a few lines off Wikipaedia were happy to call themselves agnostic. They were happy, not because they had found a philosophical match for themselves, but because with it they could excuse themselves from the pro / anti religion debate while appearing to have given it the thought they had no inclination of sparing.
The figures for atheists returned in national census reports seems at odds with the prevalence of non-belief. Far more people avoid the debate than take part in it. I wonder at that discrepancy and what accounts for it. I think it is accounted for not by any lack of conviction on the subject, but by a dislike for the perception of atheism. Some of the blame for that perception belongs with those reporting it in the media, but much of it must be laid at the feet of atheists themselves. The burning question is how do we address that problem?
Tyson talks agnosticism:
Neil deGrasse Tyson: Atheist or Agnostic? (Big Think)
youtube.com/watch?v=CzSMC5rWvos
The Agnosticism of Neil deGrasse Tyson
youtube.com/watch?v=U0jLb9ooXgM
Is agnosticism becoming a 'Get Out of Atheism Free' card? Are atheists alienating non-believers by their conduct?
Links below:
I've canvassed several friends recently, none of whom have any religious inclinations, about where they stand on the religious/atheist debate. The most I could get (and only from one or two) was something along the lines of, 'I suppose I'm an atheist, but I wouldn't call myself that because I don't want people to think I hate religion or have anything against religious people'.
Others had no idea what agnosticism was, but on reading a few lines off Wikipaedia were happy to call themselves agnostic. They were happy, not because they had found a philosophical match for themselves, but because with it they could excuse themselves from the pro / anti religion debate while appearing to have given it the thought they had no inclination of sparing.
The figures for atheists returned in national census reports seems at odds with the prevalence of non-belief. Far more people avoid the debate than take part in it. I wonder at that discrepancy and what accounts for it. I think it is accounted for not by any lack of conviction on the subject, but by a dislike for the perception of atheism. Some of the blame for that perception belongs with those reporting it in the media, but much of it must be laid at the feet of atheists themselves. The burning question is how do we address that problem?
Tyson talks agnosticism:
Neil deGrasse Tyson: Atheist or Agnostic? (Big Think)
youtube.com/watch?v=CzSMC5rWvos
The Agnosticism of Neil deGrasse Tyson
youtube.com/watch?v=U0jLb9ooXgM
