Strong Atheism, or Weak Atheism?

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Max35

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So, for the sake of absorbing other's viewpoints: are you a strong atheist or weak atheist? If you are unfamiliar with the terms I will provide the definitions from my own understanding.

Strong Atheism: Actively believing that God(s) don't exist

Weak Atheism: Simply lacking belief in God(s)

For me, I'm a Weak Atheist. It's probably the wrong viewpoint, but I find myself "on the fence" about many controversial topics such as this.
 
Max35 said:
So, for the sake of absorbing other's viewpoints: are you a strong atheist or weak atheist? If you are unfamiliar with the terms I will provide the definitions from my own understanding.

Strong Atheism: Actively believing that God(s) don't exist

Weak Atheism: Simply lacking belief in God(s)

For me, I'm a Weak Atheist. It's probably the wrong viewpoint, but I find myself "on the fence" about many controversial topics such as this.
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One implies the other.
 
Weak atheist at the moment, but I find myself starting to lean more and more towards strong atheism. It's possible for a god to exist, but I'm finding the idea to be more and more improbably with each day.

Solaris said:
One implies the other.
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They are not the same. A weak atheist (agnostic atheist) may accept that a god may exist, but doesn't think it warrants belief. A strong atheist (gnostic atheist) would claim outright that gods do not exist.

To be quite honest, I think the only reason the term "weak atheists" exists is because religion is such a prominent and sensitive issue for a lot of people. Unicorns might exist, but we don't have that kind of fence-sitting nature when it comes to whether or not we believe in them. We say "unicorns don't exist", much like pixies, witches, and demons roaming the earth.
 
Actually, what you refer to as "Weak Atheism" is really referred to as "Agnosticism"! :)
 
Being a very logical person, I guess that makes me a strong athiest using your terms.
 
Solaris said:
One implies the other.
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I expected that type of reply. These are official definitions. Weak Atheism can stand on the lack of perception about God at all, whereas Strong Atheism is actively taking a stance that God does not exist through evaluting and analyizing the logic of the subject.

Yes, one can imply the other, but if you look deeper at it...okay Weak Atheism is lacking the belief of God WITHOUT actively believing there isn't a God. Seems like a contradiction, but it isn't.
 
I lean more towards Strong than Weak.

There is a very slight possibility of everything having been created by one or more gods. But logic dictates that a chance that infinitessimally small isn't worth considering.
 
Nemesis6 said:
Actually, what you refer to as "Weak Atheism" is really referred to as "Agnosticism"! :)
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Well, Weak Atheism and Agnosticism share the same core set of rules. But, as I said, Weak Atheism is simply the lack of belief, whereas Agnostics reason that there is no way to determine the answer to that metaphysical question. They are intertwined, yet different.

If I have this wrong, it'd be great for a more knowledgable person to clarify the meaings. I've recently read up on the subject, and that's what I was able to draw out of it.

EDIT: Just for efficiency and to alleviate confusion, there are different kinds of "Weak Atheists" and "Strong Atheist" here are both lists to determine which subset you are in.


Types of Weak Atheists

Weak atheism is a very broad category. It includes, among others:

those who have never been introduced to the concept of God (implicit atheists)
those who don't care enough about God to believe or disbelieve (apatheists)
those who consider the question of God to be meaningless (ignostics)
those who don't believe it is possible to be certain of the existence of God (skeptics).
those who state that they personally have no knowledge of God (agnostics)
those who haven't made up their minds
those who have made up their minds, deciding that the evidence doesn't warrant belief
The only requirement is to be neither a theist (theists believe god exists) nor a strong atheist (strong atheists believe god does not exist).


Strong atheism also has plenty of room for variation. This group includes, for example:

those who believe that God does not exist based on current evidence (including both those who would and those who would not change their belief based on new evidence)
those who claim to know that God does not exist
those who believe that the concept of God is contradictory
those who do not claim any logical reason for their belief
The only requirement is to accept as true the proposition "God does not exist".

(from wiki.com)
 
Nemesis6 said:
Actually, what you refer to as "Weak Atheism" is really referred to as "Agnosticism"! :)
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That is merely the current (mis)use of the word. What you think of as agnosticism is essentially the same thing as "weak atheism".

People who classify themselves as agnostics today are technically atheists. This is because it does agnosticism itself is not part of the theism/atheism continuum.
 
I'd consider myself I strong atheist. I don't believe in anything supernatural, but at the same time acknowledge that we don't know shit. Anything is possible, but the popular concept of a "god" is just silly.
 
Absinthe said:
That is merely the current (mis)use of the word. What you think of as agnosticism is essentially the same thing as "weak atheism".

People who classify themselves as agnostics today are technically atheists. This is because it does agnosticism itself is not part of the theism/atheism continuum.
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Oh, was my original definition of Weak Atheism wrong then, or are just referring to the mis use of agnosticism? Sorry, just trying to get things straight.
 
I'm simultaneously a skeptic, agnostic, ignostic and strong atheist (for the first and third reasons listed).

Slightly apatheistic too. I don't gave a shit about god as much as I do the followers.
 
DeusExMachina said:
Weak atheist, but I identify myself as agnostic.

(No argument pwease)
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Agreed. I like to think I just don't give a shit to argue with somebody. You can't prove he exists, you can't prove he doesn't, so what's the point. I'll just go with, until I see it, I don't care.
 
Max35 said:
But, as I said, Weak Atheism is simply the lack of belief, whereas Agnostics reason that there is no way to determine the answer to that metaphysical question. They are intertwined, yet different.
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This has always been my understanding in the definitions of agnosticism and weak atheism. You are correct and they are different.

I, for example, am Strong Agnostic, meaning that I believe that the question of whether there is a God or Gods is unknowable by any nature. A Weak Atheist will believe that he or she does not know if a God or Gods exist and will not believe in one.

However, it can be confusing... the concepts and beliefs do overlap, and in some situations one can claim to be atheist and agnostic at the same time (depending on which extreme he/she leads towards). Its sort of like the difference between Catholic and Roman Catholic Christianity... some of the beliefs will overlap.

I agree with you.
 
tehsolace said:
I agree with you.
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Wow, it's been a while since someone has said those magic four words, makes me feel all warm inside :p

I'm sure most people disagree with me, though. That just seems to be the way things roll, which is why in real face-to-face conversations, I keep my views to myself.
 
Welcome to internetz.
I'm either weak atheist or agnostic, can't really make up my mind...really a 'don't know' thing.
 
Extremely strong atheist. I believe there is no possible way for god(s) to exist, and furthermore find the very concept absurd (and a little upsetting).
 
^ Allowing and forcing people to believe such drivel is quite upsetting, and the words and actions of such people can be disturbing at times.
Fortunately, unlike the USA a huge proportion of people in the UK are athiest and the few religious people are usually quite friendly, then there is the large proportion of muslims calling for death upon the infidels (exploding muslims are more common over here than the USA). You hear mountains of unfathomable shit occuring in the USA due to religious nuts though.
 
Weak atheist. Strong atheism is a belief or a faith and it's a claim to knowledge you don't have.

A weak atheist can still say that based on current evidence (or lack thereof) the existence of a deity is unlikely. It just isn't very scientific to turn probability into certainty.
 
Probably apatheistic. I think the question of God is an irrelevant one.
 
PvtRyan said:
Weak atheist. Strong atheism is a belief or a faith and it's a claim to knowledge you don't have.

A weak atheist can still say that based on current evidence (or lack thereof) the existence of a deity is unlikely. It just isn't very scientific to turn probability into certainty.
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QFT

I'm a weak atheist reformed from a strong atheist. It really depends on the day and what's going on as to how I feel about the issue.
 
god schmod

all those who're burnt out on religious topics say aye


aye



strong whatchimacallit
 
neptuneuk said:
Fortunately, unlike the USA a huge proportion of people in the UK are athiest and the few religious people are usually quite friendly, then there is the large proportion of muslims calling for death upon the infidels (exploding muslims are more common over here than the USA). You hear mountains of unfathomable shit occuring in the USA due to religious nuts though.
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72% of those living in great britain identify themselves as christian. That's not including other religions. Not exactly a few, compared to the 15% or so non religious.

NOTE: as of 2001

all those who're burnt out on religious topics say aye


aye
Click to expand...


Aye. Religious topics are too common in politics, and that's pretty much all it is these days. Change the subject, seriously.
 
DEATHMASTER said:
Welcome to internetz.
I'm either weak atheist or agnostic, can't really make up my mind...really a 'don't know' thing.
Click to expand...

I think if you state that you simply "don't know" whether a God exists or not, then you are a weak atheist (one who claims not to know of any existence of God(s)). If, however, you state that you believe theres no way for you to know and, therefore, you don't believe in one, then you are a form agnostic.
 
What are you if you believe in the possibility of a god? Like, you believe that it is possible that there is a god, even if that possibility is extremely small?
 
DaMaN said:
What are you if you believe in the possibility of a god? Like, you believe that it is possible that there is a god, even if that possibility is extremely small?
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That's weak atheism, err, well it usually is. That's assuming you have no belief in said gods because the chance is so small.

That's pretty much where I stand. I lean towards strong atheism, but I stop just short because it's very difficult to to prove the non-existence of something.


Also, I disagree with the agnostic statement that god can't be proven or disproven, atleast in the christian sense.

Isn't Jesus rising from the dead or the virgin birth scientifically testable, atleast in principle if not in practice?
 
DaMaN said:
What are you if you believe in the possibility of a god? Like, you believe that it is possible that there is a god, even if that possibility is extremely small?
Click to expand...

That depends on whether or not you think that that small probability is worthy of belief. Issues of probability do not put you in one camp or the other. It just generally follows that if you think something is improbable, you don't believe it.

As for the provability of deities... It's possible. It just depends on how defined they are. It may be a scientific impossibility to disprove that gods exist, period (personally, I think the jury may still be out on that one). But when you start detailing the manifestations or structure of specific gods, they do become falsifiable. The god that flooded the world only a few thousands of years ago cannot exist based on all current scientific and historical knowledge. The benevolent and loving god that eternally punishes the exercise of free will is a contradiction, and does not exist. The more data attributed to a deity, the more he can be evaluated with empirical and/or logical reasoning.
 
Absinthe said:
That depends on whether or not you think that that small probability is worthy of belief. Issues of probability do not put you in one camp or the other. It just generally follows that if you think something is improbable, you don't believe it.

As for the provability of deities... It's possible. It just depends on how defined they are. It may be a scientific impossibility to disprove that gods exist, period (personally, I think the jury may still be out on that one). But when you start detailing the manifestations or structure of specific gods, they do become falsifiable. The god that flooded the world only a few thousands of years ago cannot exist based on all current scientific and historical knowledge. The benevolent and loving god that eternally punishes the exercise of free will is a contradiction, and does not exist. The more data attributed to a deity, the more he can be evaluated with empirical and/or logical reasoning.
Click to expand...
Makes sense...

So I guess I would say that I don't believe in a god, but I believe that is is possible there is some sort of god (though probably not of the biblical kind). Or is that contradictory?
 
An interesting topic, but i think you've ought to make it in another thread. This has nothing to do with politics :thumbs:
 
Walter said:
An interesting topic, but i think you've ought to make it in another thread. This has nothing to do with politics :thumbs:
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Quite true, this should be in another thread. However, I disagree that it has nothing to do with politics. Currently, many political viewpoints are comming from a religious angle (preventing stem cell research, the fact that athiests cannot run for political office in some states, etc. - see this video for more info). Religion and politics are both ways of keeping a populous under control. Examining politics and examining religion, one can find many similarities.

Try looking at it this way: http://xkcd.com/c154.html
 
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