r/agnostic

It is my first time posting here in this sub, and I hope it's a safe place to say whatever I can't elsewhere:).
I was born in a Muslim community, including its extreme side, where women are required to cover up(like the whole body)Anyway, I have had this friend since high school. I never really discussed religion or religious perspectives with her, but a few days ago I was venting about how difficult it is to cover my face even when there are no men around, just in case. I said I wish I could wear just a hijab without covering everything else. I don’t believe in that hijab shit, but I didn’t want to risk saying without both, hijab and niqab.
Suddenly, she reacted in the most extreme way I’ve ever seen.
I was so fucking scared.
She even said that hijabis deserve to go to hell because they’re not “covering up enough.”
She said so many things I don’t want to remember, because wtf.
Like every woman who doesn’t cover up deserves to be killed. For a moment I thought I was talking to the leader of extremism or something
Wtf
Honestly that's really messed up but what else did I expect?
I wanna escape these people so bad.

The main reason I left my faith was because of misogyny in religion. So I researched and every single religion I’ve researched is rooted in patriarchy and sexism. These main ones are Islam , Christianity, and Judaism. Does anyone know religions that don’t hate women ? 😔

I recently landed here after a long time of struggle with what I believe. As a Christian, I prayed regularly but have fallen away from it as I question my beliefs.

I’m wondering what other forms of spirituality you practice. Is it a different form of prayer, meditation, what? What do you practice that would wish / visualize for someone’s well being, happiness, success, health, whatever?

Being agnostic has been a real lonely bubble. This morning, I had a revelation that I need to stop being lazy and choose a faith, as that is my luxury from being raised in a secular household. Sticking to a secular philosophy is the rational pragmatic solution, but there is a real lack of cool temples, rituals, and communal gathering events associated with Nietzsche, Machiavelli, or Aristotle. I need to go mainstream. So I’m currently shopping around for a God/s. Any input is much appreciated.

Kind of a rant too but any advice/ support would be appreciated!! So I have a really good friend, (as in we have been best friends for 10 years) and she is SO strong in her faith as a christian I cannot even explain it. She has not always been like this, but within the last year or so, she has really been building her faith and is very passionate about it. I have tried and done all the things to try and believe or find the same comfort in Christianity, but it didn’t ever end up really being my thing for many reasons. (living in the bible belt, you get swooped into it some way or another) Anyways, I completely respect her, and I’m happy that she has found so much comfort in it. The big kicker is that one day when we were in the car together, she was bawling her eyes out because she was terrified that I wasn’t going to be in heaven with her. And since then she has done similar things like long phone calls, and voice memos all with her, bawling her eyes out. And I really feel for her because yeah, for someone who does find so much faith in that I get how sad that could be especially being her best friend. She knows that I’ve tried Christianity and it wasn’t for me but she just keeps insisting that I should keep trying or do this, or that, and…or…. I hate it for her because I know how much it hurts her and I don’t want to cause all of that hurt, but I really just don’t know what to do. Because there’s no way I can comfort her. She just cries and cries and she’s so sad and she’s so scared that I won’t be in heaven with her. I wish there was a way I could make her less sad, but I just don’t believe in it. I’ve ran out of things to tell her.

I used to believe in Islam strongly, but over time religion started feeling mentally exhausting to me. It wasn’t just major things — even entertainment started feeling guilty sometimes. I felt like I couldn’t fully enjoy anime, movies, games, music, or modern entertainment without worrying whether it was haram or harming my faith.

Part of me feels like I slowly became atheist because my mind wanted freedom from that constant restriction and guilt.

But after leaving religion, I also noticed changes in myself that honestly concern me:

• more anger over small things,
• more jealousy,
• less guilt when doing wrong things,
• and a kind of emptiness I didn’t expect.

Now I feel conflicted because some things in Islam still make deep logical sense to me — especially tawhid, the purpose of life, and questions about the Quran and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Christianity feels harder for me to understand philosophically.

At the same time, I still struggle with questions like:

• Why are there so many religions if God exists?
• Why is there so much suffering in places like Palestine?
• Why would God allow confusion?

I’m not looking for insults toward religion or atheism. I genuinely want thoughtful perspectives from people who seriously struggled with belief and doubt.

Did anyone else leave religion partly because it felt restrictive, then later feel conflicted about it?I used to believe in Islam strongly, but over time religion started feeling mentally exhausting to me. It wasn’t just major things — even entertainment started feeling guilty sometimes. I felt like I couldn’t fully enjoy anime, movies, games, music, or modern entertainment without worrying whether it was haram or harming my faith.

Part of me feels like I slowly became atheist because my mind wanted freedom from that constant restriction and guilt.

But after leaving religion, I also noticed changes in myself that honestly concern me:

• more anger over small things,
• more jealousy,
• less guilt when doing wrong things,
• and a kind of emptiness I didn’t expect.

Now I feel conflicted because some things in Islam still make deep logical sense to me — especially tawhid, the purpose of life, and questions about the Quran and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Christianity feels harder for me to understand philosophically.

At the same time, I still struggle with questions like:

• Why are there so many religions if God exists?
• Why is there so much suffering in places like Palestine?
• Why would God allow confusion?

I’m not looking for insults toward religion or atheism. I genuinely want thoughtful perspectives from people who seriously struggled with belief and doubt.

Did anyone else leave religion partly because it felt restrictive, then later feel conflicted about it?

I often find myself imagining how much comfort I would find in knowing that, even though my life was/is hard, one day it would be over and I would be surrounded by genuine love.

I don’t have much luck here on earth but I'd have someone who loved me just because.

It makes me cry to think I might never get the opportunity.

So I come from a religious country ( Algeria ) and I I’m an agnostic. I don’t like religious people, and people around me are religious, and I don’t ever see myself with a religious woman. So I don’t think I can find the person I’m looking for where I am, hence, i decided I can look anywhere else. I’m a 30 yo M, I’m mostly attracted to intelligence and wisdom, All I care about is the mind, anything else is just a bonus. Can I find anyone here?
Or any good places for what I’m looking for.
Btw, friends are welcome too, I wanna make agnostic friends

I’m sure this has been asked many times. I am having some health issues and facing my own mortality. What is your take on death. For some reason the idea of complete nothingness absolutely terrifies me. Truly. I know I won’t be aware or feel any pain etc etc. The idea of a quick death bothers me the most. One second you’re there and then gone in an instant. I guess I’m searching for a philosophy or belief system that won’t make death seem so damn scary. Appreciate any comments.

Less than a week ago, my (18f) boyfriend (19m) went to the catholic center at his college to learn more about the religion. I have no idea what happened when he went there but he has basically completely converted.

Before this, we had pretty much the same religious views, and that was always something I loved about our relationship, we would always talk about not knowing exactly who we were praying to and how it was more fun that way. Some of my favorite memories together were our philosophical talks about religion.

Now, he’s praying to the rosary multiple times a day, already enrolled to be confirmed at the church, he’s talked about how he wants me to look into it and research it. And he’s made a few remarks about me coming to mass with him, and me veiling. He’s made Pinterest boards and put a Bible verse in his instagram bio, says he’s not eating meat on fridays anymore. And it’s all he seems to talk about now, every single conversation we’ve had he’s managed to weave in Catholicism into it.

I’m a little bit shocked and concerned at this turn around. It’s been exactly 5 days since he visited the catholic center and had this “conversion”, and I feel like he’s just completely thrown himself into it without knowing a lot about what he’s getting into. Of course I support it and I want to be there for him but it’s just a bit difficult for me to process this lifestyle change at such a fast pace.

If anyone has any advice for how to navigate this I would love that. Thank you

I consider myself an agnostic pantheist or panentheist as I am a Daoist by practice as a Taijiquan adept. But I'm pretty anti-religion. Never believed in an afterlife or reincarnation. I just believe we get back to the universe as the stardust we have always been. And that's the beauty of Daoism because it's very naturalistic.

However, recently, I began to believe there could be something after death. I was thinking about the absolute absurdity of our existence and of the existence of the universe itself. In terms of consciousness, there was nothing and - suddenly - we woke up.

I'm thinking that our existence is so absurd that a subsequent just-as-absurd existence is paradoxically plausible. We could wake up again whether it be in this universe or another one. Even if it takes a billion years, we wouldn't know. It would feel instantaneous, continuous, and ever-present to us just like our current existence and experience have always been. We don't remember the dark that precedes our consciousness.

I guess this is just an absurdist stance. But everything seems so absurd to me: a universe, a god, us...

What do you think?

I stopped writing for a while because sometimes finding your voice and actually using it are two different things.

A lot has happened in the silence.

Not necessarily externally. Internally.

Lately I’ve been reflecting on a part of deconstruction that I don’t think gets talked about enough.

Not the theology. Not even the questions themselves.

But the moment you realize how much of your perception of “other people” had already been shaped for you before you ever truly experienced them yourself.

I genuinely believed people outside of my belief system must secretly feel lost, empty, disconnected, or morally adrift in some way. Not because I hated anyone, but because that was the framework I inherited.

Then over time I met people who completely complicated that narrative.

People who were thoughtful. Grounded. Kind. Ethical. Self-aware. People who carried humility without certainty.

And honestly, I think that realization shook me more than any theological question ever did.

Because once you realize humanity exists far beyond the categories you inherited, it becomes hard to see the world the same way again.

Has anyone else experienced this part specifically?

Not necessarily losing faith entirely, but realizing the world outside the framework wasn’t what you were taught to fear?

And if you’re currently in the middle of deconstruction, what has honestly been the hardest part for you lately?

In this question to Ask-an-Atheist I asked for suggestions about finding a peaceful non-meddling faith for those who crave having a faith and are open to suggestions? [edited]

I've met such seekers personally, and there is some indirect evidence that some naturally gravitate toward serving a faith. But I got a highly negative response, which baffled me. Talking a seeker out of any faith may likely fail, so I figure one might as well guide them toward mild faiths. The atheists answers didn't seem practical.

Is the God of your religion truly real, or instead a predictable product of Francis Bacon’s Idols of the Mind—born not from evidence, but from the hidden frailties of human cognition itself? 

Francis Bacon identified the cognitive biases at the core of religious belief more than 400 years ago, and they still provide a perfect model for understanding the psychology of religion. 

Now Im agnostic but I am looking for any other explanations for this

PREFACE

Under a theistic framework, people affirm that God designs everything with intention and preciseness So this by start rules out it is just a coincidence for other religions all together

FINE TUNING OF MECCA WITH THE 'DIVINE PROPORTION '

North and South poles are the fundamental geometric points of earth which is created by God and The location of mecca is related with a golden ratio proportion to the fundamental property of earth that is polar distances

3)Polar distances is how we map the earth the position that divides the fundamental geometric length of earth in golden ratio .34°N which is passing through the plains of Arafat the most important site of hajj and is about 8 km off from mecca

Now the 8km discrepancy most definitely can arise due to our own current measuring instruments you can check it out for yourself using the given tool

https://geodesyapps.ga.gov.au/vincenty-inverse

[ using this calculator you can calculate the ratio yourself for 21.34°N or to be precise 21° 21'' 30'' is the precise latitude for poles using 90°]

QURAN REFLECTS THE SAME PROPORTION

THE ONLY central mention of bakkah in the Qur'an occurs in 3:96 where the word itself is related in the same proportion

Such that the length of the total sentence in letters / length of sentence till bakkah in letters = phi

Which is 47/29 ( this occurs due to counting of shaddas so I'm not that sure about this one ) which btw both of them are lucas number and 47 is a kieth number which makes all the more interesting)

THEOLOGICAL INQUIRY

Now I fundamentally want to ask WHY WOULD THE CHRISTIAN GOD OR THE ANY OTHER GOD CREATE EARTH IN SUCH PROPORTION THAT MECCA OR THE MOST CENTRAL SITE OF A FASLE RELIGION IS AT THE GOLDEN RATIO PROPORTION which is the ratio he uses to design things in the universe precisely

Psalm 19:1 states, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork

now why is it declaring the glory of a false religion? Why is his handywork at the central site of a false religion?

So the most explanatory power for this phenomenon is given to islam because it is consistent with its methods such as fine tuning and cosmological design

So does anyone here think that they are better than religious people in general like they believe that they are smarter and better people etc and also when it comes to religion do you lastly critique all religions or just the lost popular ones being Christianity,Islam etc

I consider agnosticism to be my "religion", in a sense of it being my moral and "spiritual" beliefs.

Heads up I talk about secular things like s*x and dr*gs in this post.

This is NOT an offense towards Christianity AT ALL, regardless of what I do, it is complete love and respect to your faith.

I am at a crucial point in my journey as a christian.

A huge part of me and my self identity feels like Jesus is the truth and the blessings in my life are because of him.

However there's constantly a voice in the back of my head saying that I wont be reaching my full potential or that Christianity is the wrong path for me. Basically saying, it's a philosophy that works for a lot of people, but it isn't what I'm supposed to do

I really love what's considered sin.
I like sex and I like drugs and my passion and dream is to be a musician. It truly feels like its my purpose.

I feel like the sins I love so much dont harm anybody the way I indulge in them. Everything is consenting, and it is still a huge part for me to treat people with kindness and love.

The dilema is that my secularism is so intertwined with music, that I have to choose one. I cant fence sit.

Either path I choose I will still prioritize moving with love. But I just can't get with all of the rules of Christianity. I think it holds me back in pursuiting music.

Its absolutely still love towards christianity and I absolutely support it as a healthy, wholesome lifestyle.
But I am worried if I choose it I will live my life in regret knowing what I could've been, and potentially not following my true purpose.

What should I do?
Posting to multiple subreddits to get different perspectives.
Please try to answer with my perspective in mind and understand this post is NOT an offense to your beliefs, regardless of what I choose to do with my life, I support and love christians.

My boyfriend and I have been together for five years. A year and a half ago, he became an evangelical Christian after a difficult experience related to his father's health, and he found in his faith a sense of salvation and healing for his inner wounds.

For my part, I consider myself agnostic. I believe there's a greater, inexplicable "force" that governs the inexplicable and the unknown, but I don't adhere to any particular religion or spirituality; it's more of a personal matter. Tbh, I do consider that this inexplicable force might be what many believers in the world call God.

Since his conversion, I've become interested in his faith and the evangelical world. I sometimes go to church with him, and I've also started reading the Bible so I can understand for myself what's sometimes being discussed. I try to view all of this with a lot of perspective and without judgment.

Three of her very close friends are also evangelical Christians, so you could say I'm totally immersed in it 😅 Because of this, and with the sermons and pastoral talks, plus these people I'm around who always speak of it as if it were absolute truth, I've questioned myself a lot, even sometimes wondering if the reason I don't feel what they feel when they talk about the Holy Spirit is because of my pride or some other reason I'm unaware of. It's pushed me to introspect even more, but I feel like the more I go to church, the more I read the Bible, and the more I talk about it, the more it reinforces what I already think because I see a lot of human influence in all of this. I'm getting caught in a bit of a spiral where I think maybe I'm sinking into my pride, but I also can't question my entire way of thinking and my life experiences... When I see all these people worshipping in church, especially since evangelical services are very lively and noisy, with praise music, people falling, shouting, etc., it's hard not to have doubts. But I have this kind of inner "alarm" telling me to be mindful of the human influence in all of this.

Have any of you had similar experiences or questions? What is your general opinion on the evangelical movement?

or both she AND Joseph because they didn't want to carry the humiliation