cross22
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- Dec 26, 2009
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I'm more trying to frame why people bother making a distinction between the various shades of atheist vs agnostic. Yes, a lot of it has to do with US culture, the almost total rejection of "atheism" here, and the type of people who are willing to openly call them self an atheist.
The descriptions are massively generalized to describe what the US public thinks of for those groups. You say "atheist" here and people think "God hating asshole." You say "agnostic" and people think "weenie who can't make up his mind." Neither is at all positive or particularly descriptive of what most atheists really believe.
I am an atheist, in that I do not have any belief in God. I do not believe it is a knowable question, however. Many in the US do, and their influence on the debate and social acceptance of atheism here is negative in my eyes.
I understand what you are saying. I think the cause and effect are reverse though. I don't think the atheists have given atheism a bad name, I think the strong negative perception of atheism discourages all but the most confrontational and militant atheists from publicly admitting their atheism.