[Burninator]

I'm quite surprised so many people disagree with Photon, I thought his post was spot on. Of course I am not agnostic so I can't necessary defend that position, but I'll try to clarify the case for atheism.

Originally Posted by llama64

I'd argue for the opposite case.

Atheism is the belief that God doesn't exist. Science hasn't demonstrated there is a God so therefore there is no god. But Science also hasn't ruled out the possibility of God. This leaves the Atheist with what constitutes as a belief.

Atheism has nothing to do with science proving their isn't a god, because it's impossible to prove a negative. The only way I would accept calling atheism a belief would be semantics in that you could one would have a belief in anything (gravity, science, etc). Comparing the belief of atheism to theism is NOT the same.

Agnostics are similar to Atheists except that they will not declare that god does not exist because there is no evidence to state such. Instead, they leave open the possibility since that seems to be what reality presents according to all accounts.

Most atheists would believe in a god if their was proof for it. I'll give a simple break down. Keep in mind this is my interpretation of an agnostic.

Agnostic - acknowledges the possibility of a god, but will not say one does/doesn't exist. Some may believe the proof of a god will come either proving that there is one, or that there is not one. Also some may believe that the answer will never come, and it is impossible to ever know the existence of a god.

Atheist - doesn't acknowledge the possibility of a god because there is no proof for one. Most would change their minds if there was proven evidence of a god. Some won't. And some (Dawkins) believe that eventually there will be evidence that will prove god doesn't exist. (but that is Dawkin's belief which doesn't have any bearing on atheism itself)

To break down the argument of "atheism is a belief too" even further I'll use another example. I don't in any way mean to be insulting, but I am going to replace god with unicorns. As an atheist, I would say there is no unicorns because we have no proof for them. This is not having faith. Faith is a Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. And since you can't prove a negative, no atheism is not a belief. It's what Photon said, a default stance when presented with lack of evidence.

Personally I tend towards Agnosticism since it fits my overall approach to gaining knowledge better. Most "Atheists" I know tend to be nearly as irritating as door to door Mormons in trying to spread their belief system. Atheism somehow as taken on the mantle of a movement if not a religion. Agnostics just don't give a damn.

There are people on every end of every spectrum that give their "ism" a bad name. Just because the atheists you know are jerks, doesn't mean we all are. I rarely talk about god, and when I do I am careful to pick my battles because it's a very touchy subject for some. I've tried to push someone toward atheism. But I sure as crap have had many a people of the theism side push me toward that.