Defining Atheism, Agnosticism, and Theism (with Christianity distinction)

Atheism, Agnosticism, and Theism

Are people around you wrestling with how they should think about God? Or do you have questions about the different ways people understand God around the world? If you’re exploring, it’s important to know there is a broad spectrum of ways people think about God. Defining all of them would take more time and space than we have here, but there are three basic categories of thought that are valuable to understand.

On one end of the spectrum is atheism, which is defined as “a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods.”  To a person with this worldview, any sort of supernatural or transcendent being is no more than a character in a fairy tale or ancient legend. A person with this understanding is likely to think of the God of the Bible, Zeus, and Vishnu as exactly the same—all of them are fictional beings conceived by humans.

A little further to the middle of the spectrum is agnosticism, which is defined as “uncertainty about the existence of a god or any gods.” To a person with this worldview, saying that a supernatural or transcendent being doesn’t exist is a stretch, but it’s also a stretch to affirm that such a being does exist. People with an agnostic understanding don’t think it’s possible to be certain one way or another—there are a lot of questions, but no real answers.

On the other end of the spectrum is theism, which is defined as “belief in the existence of a god or gods.” To a person with this worldview, the existence of a supernatural being is an accepted reality and not an outlandish thought. This category of understanding doesn’t have a hard time believing that someone outside of the world we see has the power to affect us and the things happening around us.

Within this broader category of theism is where we find Christianity, which teaches of “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God” (1 Tim. 1:17). This belief that God stands alone and has no equal is one of the things that sets Christianity apart from other forms of theism. Here, there is no pantheon, nor is there a threat that another god might someday become more powerful and defeat Him. He is the almighty one who reigns eternally.

If you have more questions about Christianity or are wondering how to help people around you who have questions, you can check out our Common Questions series, which addresses some of the most frequently asked questions about Christianity and the Bible. You can find it below.

*All definitions quoted are from Merriam-webster.com