Agnosticism versus Atheism and naturalism
Neither takes God on trust. Atheism, in the sense philosophers prefer, says there is no God. Agnosticism says that neither answer can be shown, and holds back from both.
What they share
Neither takes it on trust that there is a God. Atheists generally hold that a belief should rest on evidence and that the evidence for God is too weak. Agnostics hold back where the evidence does not settle the question.
Where they differ
- Saying no or holding back. In the sense philosophers prefer, atheism is a claim: that God does not exist. Agnosticism says that neither “God exists” nor “God does not exist” can be shown, so it holds back from both. Thomas Huxley coined the word in 1869 for a position between belief and denial.
- The words overlap. In the everyday sense, an atheist is anyone who does not believe in God, and that would include many agnostics. Philosophers call this “negative” atheism, and the claim that God does not exist “positive” atheism. The difference described here is between the claim and the holding back.
- Reasons against. Atheists often give reasons against God: the problem of evil, divine hiddenness, clashes between the traditional attributes of God, and natural explanations that leave less for a God to do. Agnostics say that both believers and deniers claim too much.
A question that separates them
- Is there a God? “There is no God who cares about us” against “No one can know whether there is a God”.
- What does the evidence show? “The evidence is clear enough to say there is no God” against “The evidence does not settle it either way”.
Whether atheism, as the mere absence of belief, needs its own proof is disputed. This page does not take a side.
Written by epchē in our own words, and checked against independent sources on 1 October 2026. The sources are listed below.
Read each on its own
Sources we used
- Atheism and Agnosticism · Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, read on 1 October 2026
- Atheism · Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, read on 1 October 2026
- Agnosticism · Encyclopedia.com, read on 1 October 2026