Poll: are you an atheist, theist or ?

[Kapalika]

FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS POLL please understand the normal, typical definition of whatever you put in the poll (you can change your vote if you make a mistake). For example if you believe in a traditional monotheistic deity please don't put transtheism which is way different from theism, and if you are a regular atheist please don't put nontheist (which is meant for someone who's not an atheist but also not a theist or deist and wouldn't fit under transtheism). Same goes for putting theism if say you don't believe in a personal or intervenening deity (which would actually be deism). See Edit 2 for some definitions!!!

So some time ago I made dual topics in the debate section:

theists attack atheism because they are insecure

Atheists attack religion* because they are ignorant

And the difference in reactions and participation, ratings on the two topics really made me wonder. My topic defending atheists was much more well received and more discussed, and I kind of felt given the responses that there might actually be more atheists here than theists.

So I wanted to make a poll to see a CURRENT reflection of the user base. The poll ends after 7 days, to best reflect this "snapshot" of active users.

Edit: I didn't put agnosticism as you can be an agnostic theist, or agnostic atheist ect. I also didn't put stuff like pantheism or panetheism because they (almost?) always fall into theistic and nontheistic variants. Just answer what "best" fits. I tried to be as broad as possible while covering the entire spectrum. I'm not aware of any other umbrella categories other than those 5.

Edit 2: To avoid confusion, some rough definitions for the purposes of this poll. Also all these have pages on Wikipedia if you hadn't come across any of the terms before:

Theism: You believe in a personal God or gods that divinely intervene or that use supernatural powers.
Deism: Your God is either impersonal or doesn't intervene. More of a clock maker type of deity that created the universe.
Transtheism: As defined by Paul Tillich or Zimmer. Described as beyond atheism and theism, so both nontheistic AND nonatheistic.
nontheism: a catch-all for non-atheist but non-theist/deist that are also not able to be described in Tillich's or Heinrich Zimmer's Transtheism.
Atheism: You do not believe in any God or gods, that they are not real but rather fictional.

 

[Kapalika]

I'll go first, explaining my position and why I didn't select the others.

I voted nontheist. I've toyed with the idea of transtheism, reading and identifying with some of what Paul Tillich says, but ultimately his context was coming from Christian theology which I couldn't relate to and it seemed too comparative rather than descriptive and many of his points I just didn't totally agree on.

I find non-theism to fit as it doesn't specificy exactly what I am (which I think defies label) but what I definitely am not. At one point I considered myself atheistic, but I was betraying how I do believe in and use deities in a "non-real" way (this is different from them "existing" which I think they do, in an abstract way/realm).

And I'm not a deist and never have been, I used to be a theist but am not anymore, as theists believe in divine intervention and thus supernaturalism, which I reject.

I have many elements reminiscent of and/or straight out of atheism, transtheism, soft-polytheism as well as pantheism. So I would say nontheism fits best. It's simple, and doesn't have a definition that would wholly or partially contradict my belief system unlike all the other choices in the poll or other labels I just mentioned.

 

[sun rise]

I could have vote for transtheism (a new one that I had to look up) but settled on theism.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Atheist. I get how you're using 'non-theist', but even then (and despite my interest in trading) I'm definitely an atheist.

 

[SabahTheLoner]

Nontheism since I don't have a strong position on gods and I'm a polytheist but I don't think of those gods as literal beings. But I don't really want to say archetypal atheist because I have the impression that deities have external energies that are natural in a way. So that's pretty much a word that I can hold on to; "nontheism".

 

[Kapalika]

I could have vote for transtheism (a new one that I had to look up) but settled on theism.

Technically transtheism would fall under non-theism but also non-atheism. However nontheism would by definition include atheism although not all nontheists are atheists.

Atheist. I get how you're using 'non-theist', but even then (and despite my interest in trading) I'm definitely an atheist.

I'm not sure what you mean? If you put atheist that's what I would of expected from someone with your stance. For the purposes of the poll I noted Nontheism as a catch-all for non-atheist but non-theist/deist positions that are also not able to be described in Tillich's or Heinrich's Transtheism. Many Buddhist sects for example are nontheist, but not strictly atheistic since they make use of demi-god like beings in varying degrees of symbolic versus literal.

 

[Kapalika]

Hm. Maybe I should of added definitions.... I'll do that.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS POLL please understand the normal, typical definition of whatever you put in the poll (you can change your vote if you make a mistake). For example if you believe in a traditional monotheistic deity please don't put transtheism which is way different from theism, and if you are a regular atheist please don't put nontheist. Same goes for putting theism if say you don't believe in a personal or intervenening deity (which would actually be deism).

So some time ago I made dual topics in the debate section:

theists attack atheism because they are insecure

Atheists attack religion* because they are ignorant

And the difference in reactions and participation, ratings on the two topics really made me wonder. My topic defending atheists was much more well received and more discussed, and I kind of felt given the responses that there might actually be more atheists here than theists.

So I wanted to make a poll to see a CURRENT reflection of the user base. The poll ends after 7 days, to best reflect this "snapshot" of active users.

Edit: I didn't put agnosticism as you can be an agnostic theist, or agnostic atheist ect. I also didn't put stuff like pantheism or panetheism because they (almost?) always fall into theistic and nontheistic variants. Just answer what "best" fits. I tried to be as broad as possible while covering the entire spectrum. I'm not aware of any other umbrella categories other than those 5.

I picked atheism because I've been raised non-religious and actually don't know a god other than what's written in the bible. I never believed jesus christ is god, so I'm an atheist by default. No personal experience in a deity and belief in any deities to even ponder their existence. Kind of like pondering if Falcor exist because millions of people love Neverending Story and can prove the book has been translated in many languages and maybe an original copy was found somewhere in the dust of the desert.

I love the movie; but, then after understanding the human thought, culture, and belief, I understand the barrier between belief and fact.

 

[YmirGF]

Unrepentant strong atheist here. Simply put, I have no need for gods.

 

[Kapalika]

Definitions seem a bit sketchy

I put them up long before your posts you weirdly deleted for no apparent reason. All I did since then was obsessively fix minor grammar stuff I kept spotting.

 

[Kapalika]

Deism, deity is gone
Tjeism includs all sorts of theism
What is nontjeism

Why the hell do you keep posting if you are just gonna delete them a few minutes later? You've already deleted 3 posts in this topic alone.

 

[sayak83]

FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS POLL please understand the normal, typical definition of whatever you put in the poll (you can change your vote if you make a mistake). For example if you believe in a traditional monotheistic deity please don't put transtheism which is way different from theism, and if you are a regular atheist please don't put nontheist (which is meant for someone who's not an atheist but also not a theist or deist and wouldn't fit under transtheism). Same goes for putting theism if say you don't believe in a personal or intervenening deity (which would actually be deism). See Edit 2 for some definitions!!!

So some time ago I made dual topics in the debate section:

theists attack atheism because they are insecure

Atheists attack religion* because they are ignorant

And the difference in reactions and participation, ratings on the two topics really made me wonder. My topic defending atheists was much more well received and more discussed, and I kind of felt given the responses that there might actually be more atheists here than theists.

So I wanted to make a poll to see a CURRENT reflection of the user base. The poll ends after 7 days, to best reflect this "snapshot" of active users.

Edit: I didn't put agnosticism as you can be an agnostic theist, or agnostic atheist ect. I also didn't put stuff like pantheism or panetheism because they (almost?) always fall into theistic and nontheistic variants. Just answer what "best" fits. I tried to be as broad as possible while covering the entire spectrum. I'm not aware of any other umbrella categories other than those 5.

Edit 2: To avoid confusion, some rough definitions for the purposes of this poll. Also all these have pages on Wikipedia if you hadn't come across any of the terms before:

Theism: You believe in a personal God or gods that divinely intervene or that use supernatural powers.
Deism: Your God is either impersonal or doesn't intervene. More of a clock maker type of deity that created the universe.
Transtheism: As defined by Paul Tillich or Zimmer. Described as beyond atheism and theism, so both nontheistic AND nonatheistic.
nontheism: a catch-all for non-atheist but non-theist/deist that are also not able to be described in Tillich's or Heinrich Zimmer's Transtheism.
Atheism: You do not believe in any God or gods, that they are not real but rather fictional.

Monism. There is one entity Brahman whose various shapes forms comprise all phenomena: material, spiritual, mathematical, mental.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Athiest. Just no God's. Belief or aspects of belief are irrelevant.

As the term itself best describes.

 

[Kapalika]

Monism. There is one entity Brahman whose various shapes forms comprise all phenomena: material, spiritual, mathematical, mental.

Interestingly monism can either be theistic, transtheistic or nontheistic as I understand it. Was there any option that particularly seemed the most like your view? I know the poll wasn't perfect but I didn't want to have 50 different labels.

 

[Debater Slayer]

Atheist. I believe gods are no more real than dragons or hydras, so I stopped calling myself an agnostic atheist long ago and just settled with the latter label on its own.

 

[Liu]

I don't use the term supernatural; even if something considered supernatural happens, it still is part of reality and therefore natural.
Nor do I believe the divine to be a personal being in the way that we are.
So I'm not a theist.

But I believe the divine does intervene, or rather, every single thing that happens is the divine.
Also, I'm agnostic in regards to the existence of personal bodiless deities/spirits, and believe that every human (if not every other being too) is a manifestation of the divine and therefore a personal deity.
So I'm not a deist.

All that also makes clear that I'm not an atheist.

Having a bit of trouble deciding whether non-theism or transtheism fits better. I'm too agnostic to fit into the examples given for transtheism, but I also don't have the apathy regarding theology said to be typical for non-theists. But non-theism seems to be the more general term, so I'll choose this.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Technically transtheism would fall under non-theism but also non-atheism. However nontheism would by definition include atheism although not all nontheists are atheists.



I'm not sure what you mean? If you put atheist that's what I would of expected from someone with your stance. For the purposes of the poll I noted Nontheism as a catch-all for non-atheist but non-theist/deist positions that are also not able to be described in Tillich's or Heinrich's Transtheism. Many Buddhist sects for example are nontheist, but not strictly atheistic since they make use of demi-god like beings in varying degrees of symbolic versus literal.

Stupid phone auto-correct.
It was supposed to be 'despite my interest in religion'...not 'trading' or whatever.

Sorry for the confusion.

 

[The Holy Bottom Burp]

Labels, labels, labels, I think people can obsess too much about labels. Having said that, as an atheist I notice that atheism is the majority, which means we must be right!
Take that theists! Take that deists!

 

[sayak83]

Interestingly monism can either be theistic, transtheistic or nontheistic as I understand it. Was there any option that particularly seemed the most like your view? I know the poll wasn't perfect but I didn't want to have 50 different labels.

Transtheistic monism seems right.
I understand that you can't include everything. No worries.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

I reject theism/deism/transtheism for being ridiculous and egoistical. I reject non-theism/atheism for being full of ridiculous and egoistical people. I also reject all forms of agnosticism for being indecisive and full of arrogant middle-of-the-road people.