Aren't agnostics atheists in disguise? or in fear of being atheist to avoid social stigma?
im confused and indecisive..is that how agnostics are supposed to be?!
Answer:
Let's examine the anatomy of the word itself before we address your question.
"Gnosis" - Latin word, meaning knowledge
"A" pre-fix - Signifies a lack of the word attached after it.
Agnostics are, indeed, holders of the assertion that because they can't possibly comprehend anything as great and ultimate as a creator being, afterlife, or otherwise inhumanly incredible thing, they can't really commit themselves to any one belief.
Atheism is different from agnosticism because atheists tend to believe that there is enough evidence to disprove any theories about a 'higher power'. It's becoming a rising trend, for some reason.
But to answer your question:
It depends on the individual. Some agnostics may be in fear of the stigma attached to atheism, and some may (for some bizarre reason) hide their atheist beliefs for similar reasons.
Stephen Colbert once said that agnostics are atheists without balls.
Generally, agnostics like yourself question the existence of god, while atheists state that there is no god. That's the only real difference. Confused and indecisive is ok...it means your brain is functioning.
Ally, the word gnostic means knowing, so the word agnostic would mean not knowing...which is exactly what you said, at this point you are unsure. You are okay.
Atheists believe in that there are no deities/gods. Agnostics believe that it is impossible to know if there are gods.
Actually, agnosticism and atheism are founded upon two different things.
Agnosticism is a position of knowledge. That is, and agnostic thinks that it is impossible to know whether a god exists. It is not a position of "fence-sitting" or of belief, but of knowledge.
Atheism is a position of belief. An atheist lacks belief in the existence of deities. There are strong atheists ("I believe there is no god") and weak atheists ("I do not believe a god exists").
Because agnosticism and atheism are founded on different principles (knowledge and belief) it is possible to be an agnostic theist, a gnostic atheist, or any other combination.
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