This page is not necessarily supposed to represent an exhaustive explanation of what all agnostics and/or atheists think of these terms, nor is it anything I found in a dictionary, but for the record, here's my understanding of the difference between atheism and agnosticism as far as I employ those words in my own life and here on this site.... 

(Here I am specifically talking about atheism and agnosticism with regard to the issue of whether or not there is a god.) 

Atheism: 
Atheists (as I understand them) hold to a belief that there is no god (see the belief section of this web site for an understanding of what I think it means to "believe"). That's not where i'm at. 

Agnosticism: 
I am agnostic^* about god. 

I do not hold any "belief" about the existence or non-existence of a god. Someone who is agnostic about paranormal, supernatural and superstitious things is simply being honest about their own state of "not knowing for sure". They don't "really know" one way or another (and neither does anyone else) so they're not going to claim that they do (even though most others are doing just that). 

So, I do not claim it to be absolutely certain that there is a god. I do not claim it to be absolutely certain that there is not a god. 

Since I desire to approach things in a skeptical (not cynical) way and to think critically about them and want to be totally open, honest and real about my understanding of them, there is no way what-so-ever that I can make a truth claim either for or against something which can not be studied directly. 

For me, to claim something for which I have no solid, valid reason to do so, is to be dishonest, and that is something which I no longer desire to do as I had for so many years. 
 [entry added 20040313]  


agnostic as an adjective, not as a noun
Please notice, I did not say that I am "an agnostic". For me, the word agnostic is an adjective, not a noun when I use it in describing my self. This is because, calling one self "an agnostic" defines their person in terms of their view of a particular thing. Since I prefer to remain "simply human", I do not refer to my self as "an agnostic". I don't want to define my self according to my understanding of a particular issue. Rather, I use the term "agnostic" only when describing that understanding that I have about the particular thing being discussed. 

I am not agnostic about everything. Therefore "agnostic" is not an appropriate piece of terminology with which to describe my person. For example, I am not agnostic about the color of my hair. I may be confused about its color, but it certainly is there right in plain view. So, it would not seem appropriate for me to claim to be agnostic about it. 

So you can see why I do not refer to my self as "an agnostic". I only refer to my self as being agnostic about some things; specifically those things which can't be known for sure. 

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