r/agnostic

I believe there could be a god/creator but it 'doesn't matter' because it could entirely be incomprehensible to human beings. Is this agnosticism? What type is it?

to start off - this isn’t meant to be offensive, and I’m scared of it coming off that way even thought it’s not meant to

im going to church camp in a few weeks, but for the past few years, I’ve been identifying as agnostic. I’ve tried very hard to believe (and made a post about my struggles on here before), but no matter how hard I try I am unable to. I can’t tell my parents or anyone else I’m not a Christian, so I’ve just been going to church like normal. The issue is…last year, camp was really difficult, and I was hoping for some advice to make this year better

1 - conversations are like minefields. I don’t care about guys or makeup, and for some reason that’s 50% of what the girls at camp want to talk about. I struggle to talk about god because I don’t have a thriving relationship with him, and I don’t read my bible. Should I just try to study up like crazy (we’re covering Ephesians at camp) and come up with things to say?? any advice on what to do? I always come up with a ‘fake‘ persona when I’m going to church - more normal songs/things I like because that way I have more to talk to others about. (Basically, someone asks my fav song? Instead of trying to explain that I really like ‘Charming Scandalizer’ by Devsisters from cookie run kingdom, I’d just say ‘honeybee’ by Olivia Rodrigo has me sobbing

2 - I have sensory issues, but I’m not diagnosed with anything. Last year, I would always cry during worship - not because it was moving, but because I was in a really crowded and hot space with loud music blasting, tons of lights, and I couldn’t handle it. However, there is a little lobby you can sit out in, but I don’t always feel comfortable because I’m not diagnosed and I feel like I’m being dramatic, and since I can handle it then it’s fine. Besides, I tend to pass off the crying as being moved by the music, and so many other people are crying that it’s not really a big deal

3 - praying is dificult. I never know what to say, how to do it, and frantically rehearse what to say in my head so I don’t just go “um…thanks god. type shit. Amen.” Any phrases to throw in, or layouts to follow for praying? Doing it out loud in front of others always terrifies me, and I hate being the only one who never volunteers

So…yeah. Any advice or ideas would be great :) I kinda stick out like a sore thumb because I’m pretty masc (trans guy but not out) and I have a mullet, wear baggy clothes and pass a lot as a guy and I’m around girls most of the time lol. (I always just say that I like being modest 🥹) this genuinely isn’t meant to offend anyone or sound weird, I just want to blend in and feel more normal. anyways, hope y’all have a great day or night and god bless for any advice you can give

About what the title says. Why are there many Christians who think my existence as a Pansexual Agnostic Atheist who rejects traditional gender roles is an attack on them? There are many people who think my mere existence is an attack and believe I am prosecuting them just for existing, when in reality, they are the ones trying to attack me for who I am.

Is there any good rational explaination why many people have this thought process and simular thought processes?

Hello! I live in a very religious area and almost everyone that I know are religious.

They bring god to almost any topic, they are “scared” to do a lot of things because of that, but the irony is that after they arrive home from church they start to gossip,beat animals, lie, drink a lot of alcohol, etc..

My question is why are they so religious and don’t even care about what the religion and bible says?

I don't want there to be an afterlife. Not at all. I am horrified of the idea. I don't really understand the appeal of an afterlife. I get death is scary, and maybe I am not totally correct about the fact that I am not scared of death. But my fear does not even compare to the terror of eternal life.

There are only two ways death can be avoided:

1. You never exist at all.
2. You exist for all of eternity.

That's it. Just two options. Life and then eventual death is superior to be both of those. I am happy about the fact that I am alive, so I wouldn't want to never get the chance to experience life. I also do not want to exist forever. I want it to end at some point. I am glad there is an end.

The way Christianity portrays an afterlife makes me uneasy for the following reasons:

1. You only are capable of feeling positive emotions. This doesn't make much to me, negative emotions are not desirable of course, but they are an essential part of the human experience. If we are not able to feel sadness, are we able to feel compassion? My guess would be no, as feeling bad for another human being would be a negative emotion. Does that mean we are stripped of any empathy or compassion inside of us? If so, are we really still human?

Adding on to this point, the people who do not make it into Heaven are supposedly being tormented for all of eternity. What if that is your sister? Brother? Mom or dad? Son or daughter? How could you possibly feel happiness knowing they are being subjected to eternal torment? To still feel joy knowing this feels so incredibly inhumane. It gives me shivers just to think about this.

2. If there is an afterlife, was there ever really death to begin with? If you look up the definition of death, there are a million different ways to define it. The most simple one being "a loss of life". If you are still alive, you never lost life. I think the word "afterlife" is a bit of an oxymoron. How can there be life after death, when death literally means loss of life? Doesn't that mean there was never death?

3. I believe it is simply a way for humans to ease both grief and their fear of death. We are innately afraid to die. Biology designed us to have a drive to create new life and to sustain or own life. An afterlife diminishes this fear. It tells us conciseness never stops. When a loved one dies... well, they are still alive, just not on Earth.

I don't believe there is life after death. Nor do I believe there is a god. However, I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I am certain about all of this. This is why it is a such a horrifying concept for me. Because I very well could be wrong. And that is simply horrifying.

I am a 'Christian' but have long been struggling with many theological and philosophical questions that makes me personally difficult to love God or trust Him as wholeheartedly as I see other Christians do in my church.

I know there are platforms(such as Substack, Youtube, Tiktok even etc) and other social apps where it allows Christian content creators to engage in debates/conversations with atheists/agnostics to engage in deep theological issues and handle difficult questions, but I still feel there isn't a unified, structured way or platform that specifically gathers both parties to have discussions(not necessarily debates) on deep theological/philosophical issues worth exploring — current ones are more or less fragmented across major platforms that are for general social engagement purposes in my opinion, such as Discord threads.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think there should be something to be revamped, renewed, innovated, or should we be content with the current platforms and ways to have such discussions?

Grew up pretty religious, practiced regularly, prayed, the whole thing. At some point in my 20s I kind of drifted away from it, not in a dramatic way, just slowly stopped practicing.

Looking back, one of the biggest differences I noticed wasn’t really about belief itself, it was interpersonal relationships. When I was religious I had this built in community, people checking in on you, a sense of accountability to something bigger, even just simple stuff like seeing familiar faces regularly. Once that was gone I had to rebuild a lot of that structure on my own, and honestly it took a while to find something that filled the same space.

Not trying to start a debate about whether religion is “true” or not, more just curious how other people experienced this. Did you notice similar shifts in your relationships or sense of stability when your relationship with religion changed, either direction? Wondering if it’s more about the community/structure part or the belief part that actually creates that sense of peace for people.

What I mean is, I've seen and heard a lot about different religions here in (ph) but somehow I always end up noticing red flags. Or maybe it's just me not being ready to commit? I don't know. It's not that I don't believe in God. I truly have faith that there is a higher Being above all of us. I pray constantly and do my devotions, but I just can't stand the amount of misinformation, manipulation, or unrealistic expectations that not "some" but "most" churches seem to place on peoples mind. Sometimes it feels like there's more emphasis on serving the church itself than on nurturing a genuine relationship with God. I honestly don't know if anyone else feels the same. If you get what I mean (kung abot n'yo ako), apir tayo. ✋

I've started heavily losing faith lately. I feel like the followers of Christianity are out of control and are destroying so much. They want to eliminate so much of what I once took for granted. I am just losing my faith today.

I consider myself to be a rational person, in the major aspects of my life at least. I grew up Catholic but alternated between non believing, agnosticism and Christianity.

I have an intense fear of hell that keeps stopping me from deconstruction. And I have read lots and lots of books and scholarly papers, starting from the origins of the OT, the possible influences of Babylonian culture and Zoroastrianism, to the influence of Hellenistic eschatology in the NT. I read all of Ehrman’s books and I try my best to have a rational approach. Especially given my immense interest for evolution, paleontology, astronomy and science overall.

Somehow I feel like my fear stems from anxiety and untreated OCD/compulsive behavior, certainly, years of indoctrination didn’t really help. But I’m not able to get any kind of treatment and/or therapy at the moment.

Especially because I, as a woman, truly enjoy sex, but at the same time it is exactly sex that triggers my irrational fear of some sort of afterlife punishment. What gets me are the visions of hell of Christians and the stance of the Catholic Church regarding the matter. (Not to talk about exorcism, miracles and visions).

Funnily enough, I am also afraid of any other kind of hell that’s present in the main religions, the Christian one scares me more because of cultural reasons I guess. All I know is that I’ve spent the last two weeks spiraling and crying every day trying to rationalize this fear and deconstruct for once, but I can’t seem to.

Any kind of advice is appreciated.

I would have to say I am 99% convinced that there is no god. You can’t obviously disprove or approve. Why am I so close to being an Atheist? This all powerful being losing control of his emotions, killing lots of people from time to time while Buddhists and stoics have control of their emotions, and wait god has a penis now, he is a he, how do we know this? Also, if I was really a prophet today, no one would believe me, I would be labeled as insane, or starting a cult. Also, none of the crazy things in the Bible ever happen anymore, why is that? Sounds made up to me to tell a story and have something to learn from on how to live life. I mean there’s a talking snake and donkey in the Bible, just wild stuff.

When you look at the vast universe and how massive it is, let’s assume god created this entire massive thing, and put us in his image on one tiny planet in the entire universe. It makes no logical sense. Any thoughts or ideas to put into perspective? I’m open.

I've been a skeptic for the past couple of months.

The biggest things that started creating doubts in my mind about Islam were the slave system, historical problems that many scholars seem to hide about the Sahaba and some of the dark things they did, and the fact that they literally fought each other.

Then there's the whole Sunni vs. Shia thing. Both sides have historical proofs and doctrinal arguments. I honestly can't find a final answer.

Even within Sunni Islam you've got Ash'ari, Maturidi, Athari, Barelvi, Deobandi... and some of them literally make takfir of each other.

TBBH, almost everyone has their own proofs and justifications for what they believe, so after a while it just starts feeling like... there's no final answer. Just copeeee.

Then there are things like Muhammad's relationship with slaves (like /Jauniya, etc.), child marriage, and a lot of other issues.

So yeah... agnosticism, or maybe even deism, has honestly started making much more sense to me.

But here's where I'm stuck.

I'm a very intellectual questioner (no cap). I take religion, geopolitics, and the search for truth very seriously, even when it's uncomfortable.

And this is the weird part...

Islam actually made a LOT of sense to me when it came to these things.

I used to be fully Islamist. I genuinely believed secularism, feminism, liberalism, democracy, communism, etc. were forms of Jewish propaganda, kufr, and harmful ideologies.

Some people will probably say, "Bro, those are just conspiracy theories. Move on."

But that's exactly where I get confused.

Whether people agree or not, Zionists seem connected to a lot of powerful institutions and events—from pornography to discussions around the Palestine genocide. Then people talk about the Illuminati, Satanism, symbolism in the music industry, Rockefeller, etc.

You could even mention communism, and then people immediately bring up Karl Marx, the Bolsheviks, and alleged Zionist connections. 😭

So from my perspective back then, I had a very clear worldview:

These were all fitnah, and the solution was Khilafah and Shariah.

And honestly... some Shariah rulings still make a lot of sense to me. For example, riba (interest). I still think interest causes huge problems in society.

So here's my real question.

If you're an atheist, agnostic, or deist...

How do you actually see the world?

What's your worldview?

What's the solution?

How do you view things like the Palestine genocide? America's role in global politics? If there's no religion, what framework do you use to decide what's right and wrong?

I'm not here to debate or troll anyone. I'm genuinely trying to understand because right now I feel completely lost.

I'd really appreciate honest answers.

This is making me wonder if I am in some weird gray area between agnosticism and atheism. I've considered myself a non-agnostic atheist for a while. The reason for that being that if there IS a creator, it would have to be so far beyond human comprehension, that we couldn't even get close to the idea of it.

What do you guys think? Would you consider this a form of agnosticism, or a more intricate atheistic view?

NOTE: the full list of "approved material" includes a LOT of other stories, myths, and sayings from various cultures and times.

Kindergarten Jonah and the Whale Jonah 1:1-5, 10-17, 2:10 A Year Full of Stories: 52 Folktales and Legends from Around the World) | Angela McAllister

Kindergarten The Golden Rule Matthew 7:12 ICB

1 David and Goliath I Samuel 17: 1-25, 32-50 ICB

1 The Parable of the Prodigal Son Luke 15: 11-32 ICB

2 Jonah and the Whale Jonah 1:1-5, 10-17, 2:10 ICB

3 Good Samaritan Luke 10:29-37 ICB

3 The Road to Damascus Acts 9 exact wording unknown 978-1-970198-96-6

3 Daniel and the Lion's Den Daniel 6 CBN

4 Noah's Ark Genesis 6: 9-21; 7:6-10, 17-20; 8:1-4, 8-10, 15-19 ICB

4 The Necessity of Humility Luke 14:7-11 NIRV

5 The Burning Bush, and The Parting of the Red Sea Exodus 3:7-11; 14:5-18, 21-29 ICB

6 The Parable of the Prodigal Son Luke 15:11-32 ICB

6 Do Not Be Anxious (Part of the Sermon on the Mount) Matthew 6:25-34 ESV

7 The Definition of Love 1 Corinthians 13 ESV

7 Jonah and the Whale Jonah NIRV

7 The Shepherd's Psalm Psalm 23 KJV

8 Sitting below the salt Luke 14:7-11 NIRV

9 David and Goliath 1 Samuel 17 NIRV

9 Adam & Eve Genesis 2: 8-9, 15-18, 22; 3:1-15 CEV

9 "Great is your Faithfulness" Lamentations 3 JPS Tanakh 1917

9 The Eight Beatitudes Matthew 5:1-12 KVJ

10 The Tower of Babel Genesis 11:1-9 NIRV

11 To Everything There Is a Season Ecclesiastes 3 KJV

12 The Book of Job Job 1-7, 11, 14, 19, 28, 38-42 NIRV

12 Scapegoat Leviticus 16:20-22 "Bible"

According to:

sboe texas gov state-board-of-education hickman-elar-lit-list-master-list-combined-amendment.pdf

tea texas gov curriculum-and-instruction instructional-materials house-bill-1605 draft-rule-text-for-agency-recommendations-to-the-sboe-for-literary-works-list-0.pdf

and

san Antonio express news www expressnews com projects 2026 texas-schools-required-reading-list

Sure some people may say that religion was only made to comfort people,

And that's Okey, some people need to be comforted, some people need to live their life alongside a belief system that forgives them which inturn may allow them to continue forward. Some people need a system that they can turn to when they have inner turmoil. Some people would rather believe in smt they can't proof than rather be uncertain for all their entire lives. Some people would rather pray to the unknown than rather sit there. Some people need comfort in knowing that someone watches over them and loves them while others don't. And that's completely Okey.

We simply need to understand that some people need religion and can't live without it, and some don't need religion. One thing that we can focus on is abolishing any religious practices that may bring harm towards the believer or non believers ( for example extremism, honour killings,child marriages, ostracism and what not.)

I feel like we as a society can maybe try and live alongside religion, since obviously some groups of people desperately need it to function.

Serious question. If we are just dust in a vast, infinite space, how do you personally define the meaning of life?

I’ve studied religions especially monotheistic religions and one thing I concluded is that if there was infact a god his actual goal is not obedience.
God claims that he gave humans free will because he wanted them to choose him as a god on their own and find him on their own although angels have done that forcefully before because they did not possess free will. Until now it all makes sense right? Well the same god who claimed that he gave humans free will says again that he writes destinies and that every thing humans do or that happens to them by other factors and people is decided by what he wrote in the their fate. Also, god claims in most monotheistic religions that HE chooses the people whom follow him and take him as a lead. So if we work by that logic, then it’s god who chooses wether we believe in him or not, it’s not our responsibility opposite to what he claims. And yet we are told we are gonna be sent to hell or heaven based on our choice that HE decides even with the “free will” argument.
So if we really think about it, god’s goal is not obedience? Angels have done that before and humans do it now because of his choice, if he wanted total obedience it’s all in his hands.
I’m basing this on religions and some critical thinking because that’s the closest we have to arguments about god. I find that obedience is human language not an all powerful, all loving god? Same goes for him getting mad at human’s disobeying, it comes from pride and ego and those are human qualities not a a god’s.why would all-powerful god be offended because someone did not believe in him and punish him for it? He is the source and the source does not need validation.
the “hell” and “heaven” terms are human language as well because they are based on how we as humans cannot see the future nor interfere in our destinies so the closest thing we can get to revenge is suing someone for a crime and them going to jail if found guilty, but god created us so he can see the future, he can engage in events and he writes destinies. No need for a judge when the crime could’ve been avoided from the first place.
Therefore i believe if there was in-fact a god, then his goal from creating humans would never be obedience.

I was more or less atheist because my parents didn't teach us any religion and although surrounded by Christian neighbours I embraced rationality and a scientific outlook and distrusted the irrationality in religions.

So this never changed but around the age of 15/16 I started searching for a philosophy or worldview that I felt represented reality. Without finding it myself, it found me at the age of 20. Which is when I began meditating and gradually turned into a panentheist.

So, although I still don't fit into the sphere of religion, I'm no longer an atheist or agnostic.

Hi everyone. I’m agnostic, bordering on atheism and lately I’ve been struggling with the idea of death and what comes after. I turned 30 recently and it’s led to me questioning a lot of things and looking at life through a different lense. My nana whom I adore more than anything is almost 80 and I can’t lie it terrifies me to think about life without her. I’ve never met a lot of my family besides my immediate so I’ve never really had to deal with death. It terrifies me and even more so the idea that if there isn’t an afterlife this is the only time I’ll get to know and I’ll never get to speak to her again. I’m beyond any organized religion. I respect people who are but I’ll never believe in it and it doesn’t hold much logic in my opinion. How do you deal existentialism?? I know that we don’t have any choice but the older I get the more it terrifies me and I can’t stop thinking about it.

My family is very Christian, I grew up Christian, I'm agnostic now but I still sometimes accidentally pray in my head before dinner lmao. Does this happen to those of you who switched to agnosticism from any denomination of Christianity