Agnostics, You Are Atheists

I am writing this post as a quick response to John Loftus’s recent entry, Agnostics, You Should be Atheists. My argument is that agnostics already are, but may not know it. Actually, to attribute credit where credit is due, this idea was first expressed by the late Christopher Hitchens, who argued that since agnostics don’t know if there’s a god, that means they don’t believe in a god, and thus all agnostics are atheists. And, at least in a sense, he is right, because agnosticism technically refers to knowledge, while atheism refers to belief. 

Further, there are many different flavors of atheism, so just like Baskin Robins ice cream, you can pick whichever one tastes best. For example, there are positive atheists, who assert that there is no god, and there are negative atheists, who simply lack a belief in god(s). There are agnostic atheists who don’t know if there’s a god, and ignostic atheists, who don’t know what a god is. There are strong atheists who are convinced in their beliefs (or lack of them) and weak atheists who aren’t very certain. The only common ground is that most atheists have dismissed the possibility of a theist god who cares about what happens here on earth. Yet still, most remain open to new evidence should it arise.  So if you’re agnostic and fit into any of the categories I just described, then welcome to atheism.

In reality, as the atheism movement has grown, it has become more inclusive of different opinions on god’s existence. So if you’re not religious (or even if you are), then atheism welcomes you.