Atheism, Agnosticism & Humanism, Fairly

This piece describes these positions on their own terms, sets out the strongest arguments on each side, and leaves the verdict to you.

The words, untangled

Because atheism is about belief and agnosticism about knowledge, they can overlap. An agnostic atheist doesn't believe in God but doesn't claim to know there is none. An agnostic theist believes in God while admitting it can't be proved. Many people use "agnostic" simply to mean "undecided."

The word agnostic was coined in 1869 by the English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley, who meant a method rather than a creed: don't claim certainty about anything without evidence that justifies it.

Older than you'd think

Doubt about gods appears in some of the oldest written philosophy. In ancient India, the Charvaka school rejected the gods, rebirth, karma and the authority of the Vedas, and trusted only what can be perceived. (Its own books are lost; we know it mostly through its critics.) Several Indian traditions, including Jainism and early Buddhism, do not centre on a creator god at all. In Greece, the philosopher Epicurus taught that the gods, if they exist, take no interest in us, so we need not fear them or death.

Modern atheism grew in Europe from the 1700s with the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment, and spread in the 20th century. Today the least religious large populations are in East Asia and parts of Europe: Pew counts China, the United States and Japan as the countries with the most unaffiliated people.

The strongest case for nonbelief

Advocates usually make four arguments:

1. The evidence argument. Extraordinary claims need strong evidence, and believers have not provided evidence that would persuade a neutral observer.
2. The problem of suffering. If an all-powerful, all-loving God exists, why is there so much pointless suffering, from childhood cancer to natural disasters that kill thousands?
3. Better explanations. Things once explained by gods (lightning, disease, the origin of species) now have natural explanations. Why expect the remaining mysteries to be different?
4. Religious diversity. Thousands of religions make incompatible claims, and most people simply hold the faith they were raised in. That suggests culture, not truth, decides belief.

The strongest replies from religious thinkers

Religious philosophers have serious answers, which is why the debate has never been settled:

1. Why is there something rather than nothing? Science explains how things change, but not why anything exists at all. Many argue that a necessary, uncaused source is the best answer.
2. The fine-tuning of the universe. The physical constants seem set within narrow ranges that allow life. Some see design; others propose many universes or say we don't know enough to judge.
3. Moral reality. If cruelty is truly wrong, and not just disliked, what makes it wrong? Many argue that objective moral truth points beyond nature.
4. Religious experience. Millions of sane, thoughtful people report direct encounters with the sacred (see Mysticism 101). Some philosophers argue it is reasonable to trust such experience unless there's a good reason not to.

Each side's best arguments are better than the other side usually assumes. That is the main thing a fair hearing teaches.

Humanism: not just "no," but "here's how"

Atheism only answers one question. Humanism tries to answer the next one: then how should we live? The Amsterdam Declaration, first agreed by humanist groups in 1952 and most recently revised in 2022, sums it up: morality is part of being human and needs no supernatural source; reason, science and free inquiry are our best tools for solving problems; human dignity, rights and democracy matter; and a good life includes joy, creativity and responsibility to others and to the planet.

Humanist organisations in many countries hold weddings, funerals and naming ceremonies, offer pastoral care, and run community groups, filling the gap that leaving a congregation can leave behind.

Honest complications on both sides

Nonbelievers have been persecuted. In 2019, Pew counted 79 countries and territories with laws against blasphemy and 22 with laws against apostasy (leaving a religion), in a few countries carrying the death penalty. In parts of the world, saying "I'm an atheist" is still dangerous.

Atheism has also been imposed by force. The Soviet Union made atheism official policy for about seven decades: by 1940, roughly 90 percent of the churches, synagogues and mosques operating in 1917 had been closed, converted or destroyed. In 1967 Albania declared itself the world's "first atheist state" and banned religious practice. Atheists often point out that these were political tyrannies whose crimes came from totalitarianism, not from disbelief as such; religious critics answer that removing God removed a check on power. Both points deserve a hearing.

Common myths. Nonbelievers are not, as a group, without morals, purpose or awe; many describe a strong sense of wonder at nature and science. Believers are not, as a group, anti-science; many of history's great scientists were devout. Caricatures on both sides fail on contact with real people.

The takeaway

Atheism is not believing in a god, agnosticism is holding that we can't know, and humanism is a positive philosophy of living by reason and compassion without the supernatural. About a quarter of humanity has no religious affiliation, but that group is diverse and often still spiritual. The arguments for and against God are serious on both sides, and both believers and nonbelievers have been persecuted, and have persecuted, in history. A fair understanding starts with hearing each side's strongest case.

Try this: write down your own position on the two separate questions, "Do I believe in a god?" and "Do I think anyone can know?" Then write the single best argument against your view. If you can state it fairly, you understand the debate better than most people on either side.

Sources & Further Reading

Sources
- Pew Research Center, "How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020" (June 2025): 1.9 billion unaffiliated (24.2%).
- Pew Research Center, "Religious 'Nones' in America: Who They Are and What They Believe" (January 2024).
- Huxley's coinage of "agnostic" (1869) and the belief/knowledge distinction: standard philosophy-of-religion references (e.g., the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
- Charvaka materialism and its loss of primary texts; Epicurus on the gods.
- Humanists International, The Amsterdam Declaration (1952; revised 2002 and 2022).
- Pew Research Center (2022): blasphemy and apostasy laws in 2019 (79 and 22 countries and territories of 198).
- Soviet and Albanian state atheism: standard histories of religion under communism.

Go deeper
- 📘 Atheism: A Very Short Introduction — Julian Baggini (a calm, fair case from the nonbelief side)
- 📘 The Experience of God — David Bentley Hart (a serious philosopher's case for classical theism, aimed at critics)
- 🌐 Humanists International — The Amsterdam Declaration
- 🌐 Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Atheism and Agnosticism