look, i don't hate atheists... I'm just embarrased that I ever called myself one
(media.greatawakening.win)
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Theist: A person who accepts the claim in the existence of a god or gods
Atheist: NOT ^
Gnostic: To know, a person who believes they know their position is correct
Agnostic NOT ^
There's 4 stances you can hold
Gnostic Theist: I accept the claim that there is a god or gods, and I know it
Agnostic Theist: I accept the claim that there is a god, but I don't know it
Gnostic Atheist: I don't accept the claim that there is a god, and I know there is not
Agnostic Atheist: I don't accept the claim there is a god, but I don't know it
If someone says to me "I claim that there is a god, do you accept this claim?" and I say "No, I don't accept this claim" that isn't the same thing as me saying "No, I accept the opposite claim, that there is not a god"
What you call "atheist" is "gnostic atheist" which is sometimes referred to as "hard atheism"
What you call "agnostic" is "agnostic atheist."
Agnostic isn't a thing on its own, it's only a qualifier of your perceived level of knowledge of the aforementioned claim.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjY619aJ82Y Matt Dillahunty has a good video about what these terms mean.
I am an atheist and I might be wrong, those aren't mutually exclusive.
Every person who actively holds the belief that there is a god is theist. EVERY other person is an atheist. Whether that's people who lack that belief, or people who believe the opposite, or even people who have no concept of the concept of a god, all "atheist"
If I don't know whether or not there is a god, that makes me an atheist, because I'm a-theist, not-theist.
Agnostic on its own does not make sense, it's not a third category. That's because "theist" means "belief in a god or gods", not "belief in a god or gods, AND knowing it is correct."
Someone can not believe the claim, but also not believe the opposite claim.
If a theist is someone who has a belief in a god or gods
a not-theist is someone who does not have a belief in god or gods, because the a- prefix means "not" so everyone who is not theist is a-theist
It's really not that hard. You have to believe in a god to be theist, and everyone else is atheist. You're born an atheist. People in uncontacted tribes who have no god concept are atheists. People who don't believe there is AND don't believe there is not a god are atheists. People who don't care about whether there is a god or not are atheists.
You're confusing a gnostic atheist for atheists in general. Gnostic atheists don't believe in a god, and they think they know that to be true. Most atheists are not gnostic, they're agnostic, because being gnostic about the god question is foolish, theist or atheist.