How Religiously Diverse is Democratic Underground

[true_notes]

What better way to spend a Sunday than to take a poll?

So, What Religion are you?

[MelliMel]

1. Jewish - Orthodox

Mitnagdim (non-Chasidic), Ashkenazic.

Edited for spelling snafu.

[Bucky]

32. at the risk of sounding ethnocentric...

...when writing "Mitnagdim (non-Chasidic), Ashkenazic" a spelling snafu seems almost inevitable.

[davidinalameda]

112. thank you

my thoughts exactly

[undergroundpanther]

2. Religion

Gnostic/hermetic/my own mystical gnosis...

[Crunchy Frog]

3. You don't have my category listed.

Not religious, but don't consider myself to be an atheist or agnostic.

[vssmith]

6. A Deist perhaps??

Like Jefferson and Washington

[rman]

12. Doesn't belief in a deity imply religion?

Or is it that some do belief there is a deity, but feel there is no point in worship of/guidance by/prayer to the deity?

[Finder]

54. I do not see Deists as being religious...

since there is no organized religion with doctrine and such that they must blindly follow or believe in.

To Deists, nature is god and the only laws are those of nature.

[Crunchy Frog]

46. Possibly, or maybe a pantheist.

Just a somewhat inchoate sense of a divine aspect to the universe. My beliefs are not encompassed by any organized religion that I'm aware of. Even if they were, I have no desire to be associated with any organized religion.

[zonmoy]

80. same here

not religious but if god exists I could not see how he could be anything but evil.

[pecwae]

4. Eclectic spirituality

I don't know any other way to describe my beliefs.

[true_notes]

5. Someone Answer this...

Are Buddhists considered Atheist? I've heard both sides of the argument, and I'm leaning towards the Atheist group. What do you guys think?

[rman]

7. Some say Buddhism is a religion,

but it has no god, no holy book, no prayer, no creation story, no grand purpose to life.
For all i know Buddhism is a life philosophy, kindof like Zen.

[true_notes]

8. Exactly

That's been my belief all along, but there are some who have turned the philosophers into dieties, which is easy to do I guess....Take Catholocism for example.

[rman]

11. yeah, according to some even atheism and science are religion,

any idea about anything - regardless of the basis for the idea - a "belief" and thus a religion.

[true_notes]

17. Ahhh

That sounds like garbage to me. No disrespect, but the suffix "theism" means having to do with religion and or gods and the prefix "a" means not, or a varient thereof.

So Atheist simply means Not Religous or No Religion,godless, etc. Atheism isn't a belief, but rather an understanding of the physical world to debunk the mythologies that are considered religion.

[rman]

25. Of course it's garbage. Nevertheless, "some people say".... (nt)

[Karmakaze]

31. Actually leave religion out...

Theism specifically means a belief in a god or gods - a personal deity (ie not some mindless force but a being with will) while Atheist is of course the opposite; a lack of belief in a god or gods.

You CAN be religious AND atheist. Buddhism would fall into that category. You can also be a Theist but not religous. In other words you believe in a personal deity (a creator for example) but do not worship or carry out rituals based on that belief.

Well that is how I understand it anyway :)

[rman]

35. i'm wondering what your definition of "religion" is

it looks like there is no single formal definition, and at least some definitions do include theism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion

Definition of religion

There are many definitions of religion, and most have struggled to avoid an overly sharp definition on the one hand, and meaningless generalities on the other. Some have tried to use formalistic, doctrinal definitions and others have tried to use experiential, emotive, intuitive, valuational and ethical factors.

...

William Alston has suggested that the presence of a number of the following characteristics would make a set of practices a religion: 1) Belief in supernatural beings (gods),

...

[Karmakaze]

38. true...

I was just noticing that myself.

Of course if you include theism, that would exclude non-theistic beliefs from being religions even though they have all the hallmarks except a belief in a personal god.

To me, religion would simply be a belief system that encompasses rituals and other "signs" of belief. For example if you have to shave your head to be a believer, or wear a certain type of clothing, or any other overt act.

So I believe the moon circles the earth - that is not a religion. But If I believe that the moon circles the earth as long as I wear blue clothing and bow down to it every night, then that would be a religion.

But like I said, that is my take.

[bperci108]

56. You may be correct....

...but I've encountered more than a few Fundamentalist Atheists both here on DU and out in the real world.


Never quite figured that one out..... :shrug:


IMHO...any form of fundie-mentalism is dangerous and destructive, be it religious, anti-religious, environmental, political, etc.

[beam me up scottie]

57. Really? What makes not believing in gods a fundamental belief?

What atheist dogma do we preach?

Separation of church and state?

Oh the humanity!

Call O'Reilly!

Alert Faux News!

Fundamentalist Atheists are attacking christians on DU!!!

[bperci108]

59. This post even reinforces it...

"What atheist dogma do we preach?

The dogma of "anti religion".

If you wish to be an atheist, fine by me. My best friend is an atheist; I'm a theist.

We have some spirited discussions on many topics, but he always respects what I believe and I show him the same. ;)

The Fundamentalism I refer to is a mindset: The Foaming True Believer.

Doesn't matter in what, could be radical environmentalism, or politics, etc.

Some folks' zeal to condemn all forms of religion is no different than others to hunt down "heretics" or "infidels" or "traitors to the Party"...


"Separation of church and state?"


Sounds good to me.

"Oh the humanity! Call O'Reilly! Alert Faux News!"

Taking Drama Queen lessons, are we? ;)


"Fundamentalist Atheists are attacking christians on DU!!!"

In some cases, yes.


If you want your views respected, then show others the same courtesy. :)

[beam me up scottie]

61. Nice try, but atheism is simply the lack of belief in gods.

Your characterization of us as anti-religious is either ignorant or intolerant.

Maybe both.

And since I have NEVER shown disrespect to believers, I resent your implication that by opining about religion I am doing so.

If you wanted to show disrespect to atheists, you've done quite well.

[bperci108]

63. Methinks he doth protest too much.....

"Nice try, but atheism is simply the lack of belief in gods."

Usually.

But some adopt a religious (or more precisely anti-religious) zeal against religion in any and all forms. Their mindset and methods are virtually identical to some radical Fundamenalist Christians, Muslims, etc.



"Your characterization of us as anti-religious is either ignorant or intolerant.

Maybe both."

We'll let the audience decide that one.....I wasn't talking of atheists in general, just you. It was your comments I responded to.

Most atheists I know are tolerant people respectful of others, no matter what they believe.


"And since I have NEVER shown disrespect to believers, I resent your implication that by opining about religion I am doing so."


Don't blame me if you don't like the view in the mirror.

Fundamentalist-mindset thinking is equally ugly, no matter who is wielding it or why.

[beam me up scottie]

64. So now you're lying about me and misrepresenting my posts?

Show me where I have been intolerant of believers, genius, or apologize for the insult.

[bperci108]

66. Did I?

You apparently took umbrage at the term "fundamentalist" applied to some atheists.

If you are not one of those: My apologies.

If you are-then no apology is necessary or forthcoming.

You may now have the last word. :)

[beam me up scottie]

67. I'll wait for your apology.

Or proof that I'm guilty of what you have accused me of:

We'll let the audience decide that one.....I wasn't talking of atheists in general, just you.

[Goblinmonger]

100. Oh, come now

you are being a little passive-aggressive aren't you? I mean, "If you don't like the look in the mirror..." followed by an ah-shucks routine? Nobody is buying that in the audience.

[Zebedeo]

94. Hmm

Does calling believers stupid count as being "intolerant"?

[beam me up scottie]

105. Why do you think I always mean everybody when I point at you, Captain?

You really should work on that.

It's the least you could do, really, considering all the trouble I go through to qualify my statements.

Smooches.

[Zebedeo]

108. I see

You can't be accused of intolerance toward believers, because you haven't smeared ALL believers. I get it.

[beam me up scottie]

109. EUREKA !!! I think he's got it!

You finally understand the difference between BMUS criticizing one person, say the pResident, the Pope, Fred Phelps, or you, for example, and BMUS criticizing all christians.


You've been studying, haven't you?:evilgrin:

[mdmc]

9. As a Catholic, I feel like I am also a Buddhist

Buddhism helped me to return to my church. I am a Buddhist, that follows Christ through a Catholic Dogma. :insertsmiliehere:

[Recursion]

14. Well, western buddhism, at least

The kind of Buddhism that made it to the west and is attractive to western progressives is pretty agnostic ("There may or may not be gods. They're not your concern and you aren't theirs"). Therevada buddhists (the closest thing buddhists have to fundamentalists) are pretty explicitly theistic: gods exist, and once you destroy your bindings to the world of the senses you will be reborn in their world and start your next step towards sweet, sweet oblivion.

[greyl]

88. It's a salvationist religion.

The McBuddhism of the late west doesn't compare to the real thing. It's more of a hobby for many folks who call themselves Buddhist these days.

[lvx35]

114. Buddhism is a religion.

Its central narrative is about transcending the endless wheel of reincarnation and achieving a state beyond it in Nirvana. Buddhist practices can be done without subscribing to the religion, as Dali Lama says in his books, just like Hatha yoga is done without being Hindu, but the system is religious.

[WePurrsevere]

10. Not confused. Although deeply spiritual I'm not any ONE "religion".

Both my husband and I have found our path to be in some (and none) of the above. B-)

From what I understand we might fit in fairly well with the local UU folks but we haven't been able to get down to any of their meetings yet.

[BlueEyedSon]

13. You missed Humanist, UU and Naturalistic-Pantheist

:)

[wiley]

18. UUs are Christians

[BlueEyedSon]

23. Are you sure?

Both Unitarianism and Universalism trace their roots to Christian Protestantism. Many UUs appreciate and value aspects of Christian and Jewish spirituality, but the extent to which the elements of any particular faith tradition are incorporated into one's personal spiritual practices is a matter of personal choice in keeping with UU's creedless, non-dogmatic approach to spirituality and faith development. Even before the Unitarian and Universalist movements combined their efforts at the continental level, the theological significance of Unitarianism and Universalism expanded beyond the traditional understanding of these terms.

In a survey<1>, not sponsored by the UUA, Unitarian Universalists in the United States were asked which provided term or set of terms best describe their belief. Many respondents chose more than one term to describe their beliefs. The top choices were:

* Humanist - 54%
* Agnostic - 33%
* Earth-centered - 31%
* Atheist - 18%
* Buddhist - 16.5%
* Christian - 13.1%
* Pagan - 13.1%

From wikipedia. Looks like only 13% are Jesus peeps.

[JDPriestly]

41. Generally, UUs are not Christians.

Most UUs do not emphasize believing in the divinity of Christ. UUs generally reject the doctrine of the trinity which is central to Christianity. Many but not all UUs respect and value very highly the teachings of Jesus. But UUs are inclusive. There are Wiccan UUs and agnostic UUs and UUs that are very much like Christians. UUs respect the individual's spiritual search. I'm UU through and through as are a number of DUers, and we are not listed above.

[Miss Chybil]

89. I'm UU, too, but I picked Agnostic on the list. nt

[Crunchy Frog]

47. No they're not.

It may have began as a Christian sect but is not any longer. My mother is a very active Unitarian and is most decidedly NOT a Christian. Many Unitarians are actually atheists.

[Critters2]

52. Some are, some aren't n/t

[davidinalameda]

113. no no no

UU are NOT Christians

there might be Christians UUs but UU isn't necessarily Christian

[rman]

26. what god do Humanists worship?

[Bucky]

30. Phil Donahue

Of course you don't need to worship a particular god to be religious. That's what we UUs are. Noncredal, but dedicted to a reverance for the devine mysteries of the world we live in. It's a religious community made of people looking for answers or support in living better lives.

[Karmakaze]

33. The last two times I was asked in a census...

I wrote Jedi...

May the force be with you!

[Karmakaze]

36. Actually, come to think of it...

Jedi is a lot like Scientology.

In the first 3 movies (which were episodes 4 to 6 :shrug: ) The force seemed to be simply that, a force that flows throughout the universe, kind of like gravity. So this is like the early techings of Scientology.

Then in the second 3 movies (episodes 1 to 3) we actually find out that the force is actually the result of these little creatures or something called midi-chlorians, which is a lot like the supposed high level teachings of scientology when it talks about thetans, which are supposedly alien spirits or something that cling to the body of people affecting their lives.

Wooo spoooky :)

[JDPriestly]

42. Maybe they don't emphasize worship as much as action --

acting reasonably out of love and compassion. I don't know. I'm just observing people who consider themselves to be humanists -- and I don't think there are very many. Most people are theists to at least some degree.

[POAS]

15. Given recent history shouldn't Christians be

seperated into at least three categories.

Old testament
New testament
Mormon testament.

(add your own sebset here)

[Submariner]

16. You forgot my religion. I'm a Pastafarian

[Kolesar]

20. How beatific can a "jellyfish-looking thing" be?

No offense to your belief, uh, non-belief system, uh, whatever...

[liam_laddie]

22. breakfast....(recovering RC)

I love the smell of calamari sauteeing in the morning,
with, if not Wagner, Mozart...or Pat Metheny.

[Karmakaze]

39. Well, what does YOUR god look like?

Im sure he or she aint exactly pretty either :P

[bloom]

45. I think some jellyfish are among the most beautiful things

on the planet.

[H2O Man]

19. Other n/t

[Cassandra]

21. Technically Jewish but...

some form of general spirituality is looking pretty good to me these days.

[ClintonTyree]

24. What? No "Flying Spaghetti Monster"?

We Pastafarians are the most persecuted and forgotten of all religions! :cry: You'll all be sorry when I'm in Pastafarian heaven with the beer volcano and stripper factory and you're NOT!

[Donald Ian Rankin]

27. Well,

the entropy of the partition, (defined by the sum over all groups of -x log(x), where x is the fraction of people in that group, comes out as 1.65 at present, and that's probably the best way of converting the set of fractions into a "diversity score".

To give you an idea of what that means, a completely homogenous group scores 0. A group split


0.5/0.5 scores 0.69
0.33/0.33/0.33 scores 1.10
0.4/0.4/0.2 scores 1.05
0.1/0.1/...ten groups scores 2.30

So 1.65 suggests a reasonable degree of diversity. OTOH, obviously it depends on what you class as different groups, so this approach is far less rigorous than it looks, and more or less useless, alas; I'm only posting it because I'm meant to be revising for an exam in which I have to do things like this at present, rather than posting on DU...

[Alleycat]

28. Catholic

[itzamirakul]

29. Metaphysics...First Church of Religious Science...nt

Not listed on your poll

[Maat]

103. I'm a Religious Scientist also!

Hi!

[rman]

34. Moving this poll to the religion forum obviously will affect the outcome

of the poll.
I venture to guess that most atheists/agnostics on DU very rarely visit this forum.

[Inland]

48. Wow, that would be a bad guess.

indeed, the most prolific posters are atheists on mission. It's merely a fact.

[NMMNG]

90. You're on to us. There is an Atheist Agenda

And right now my Mission is to have a cup of coffee.

Cheers! :toast:

[rman]

96. Doesn't mean all or even many atheists are in this forum,

just that atheists who are in this forum are "prolific", as you put it.

Neverthelss it looks like i was wrong; the poll results haven't changed much since this thread was moved here. About 2/3 non-religious.

[trotsky]

97. On a mission to confront bigotry and ignorance, you bet.

And we sure do find enough of it here!

[beam me up scottie]

106. Really?

But you guys told me when I joined we only post here to annoy Inland.

It's not going to be fun anymore now.

[trotsky]

110. Quiet, you!

We can't let him know our REAL plan.

[LWolf]

37. Other:

None, but not atheist or agnostic.

Spiritual, metaphysical, with interest in the universal truths buried in all those in the poll, but subscribing to no single doctrine, dogma, or structure.

[ourbluenation]

40. You left Bahai off the list.....n/t

[DBoon]

43. what no FSM option?

have you not been touched by his noodly appendage?

[onehandle]

44. The U.S. Census says that only 15% of Americans are Atheist/Agnostic.

Over 50% in this poll for DUers. Much higher than the percentage for Democrats nationally (17-23% depending on the poll).

[SPKrazy]

49. Tells You Little About The Beliefs Of DU'ers As Well

Given over 80K registrations

[onehandle]

51. Yep. nt

[beam me up scottie]

55. You got us. It's the Evil Atheist Conspiracy. We're all in on it.

The mods, too.

We knew eventually you'd figure it out.

Whatever you do, DON'T google Evil Atheist Conspiracy.




oops (smacks head)

the boss isn't going to like this.

[SPKrazy]

60. I Think The Evil Atheist Conspiracy

doesn't need a spokesperson

they are perfectly able to function and do their conspiratorial things that are evil

without a spokesperson broadcasting that from the parking lot of evil atheists headquarters.

:silly:

[beam me up scottie]

62. Oh, good. You didn't find the website.

The magic cloak must be working.

I'll get to keep my rubber chicken and badge now.

[SPKrazy]

65. Yeah For You !!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are part of the in group now!!!!!

[beam me up scottie]

68. Part of the 83% who own and run the country, you mean?

Wow, I guess I can whine about how the minority is persecuting the majority too!

When do I get my christian coalition embroidered hanky to dry my crocodile tears with?

[SPKrazy]

70. I'm Sure I Wouldn't Have Any Idea

considering I have no idea where to even find the Christian coalition

maybe you could e-mail Ralph Reed??

I don't whine about being a persecuted Christian

I whine about having my beliefs mocked on DU

outside of DU (a small part of my life) I no issues with atheists

Actually I have only got issues with atheists, or theists who mock beliefs.

but as my sig line says, don't mock my beliefs, I won't mock yours.

the implied threat is that if you mock mine, you better beware because I don't turn the other cheek.
(not spiritually evolved enough I guess)

[beam me up scottie]

71. You falsely accused me of being intolerant.

Because you're pissed at an atheist who compared belief in your deity to that of Santa Claus.

I'd say you lost all sense of proportion when you attack the tolerant atheists on DU because of the actions of one.

Not to mention your credibility.

[SPKrazy]

72. And You Are The Tolerant Atheist?

:rofl:

I'll have some more :toast: of what you are drinking Scottie!!!

B-)

[beam me up scottie]

73. Show me where I have been intolerant.

And keep ignoring the fact that I call out atheists and others for broad brushing christians.

[SPKrazy]

74. I've Not Seen You Call Out Atheists And Others For Broad Brushing Anyone

but if you do, more power to you!

I was referring to your responses to me which are always a treasure to read.

Peace:smoke:

[beam me up scottie]

75. My calling you out for accusing me of being a bigot is intolerant?

Not even close.

Show me where I've been intolerant to believers.

[SPKrazy]

76. Help Me Scottie, I Can't Take It

I'm going down

:rofl: :scared: :beer: :loveya:

[beam me up scottie]

77. I'm still waiting for you show me where I've been intolerant to believers

Since you were so enraged at what you considered to be religious intolerance, I would assume that you wouldn't unfairly accuse someone else of being guilty of the same thing without proof.

Or are you a hypocrite too?

[SPKrazy]

78. I've Never Accused You Of Being Intolerant Towards Anyone

but me

[beam me up scottie]

79. Your words:

I think that a lot of people who practice Christianity today that aren't fundies are pretty different than fundies, it's just you (and your ilk) that want to lump all Christians together so you can what?

Oh yes, mock us as often as you can get the chance.

[SPKrazy]

81. Okay, Then Accept My Apology

I didn't remember saying that

I guess the heat of the moment got to me

you may not mock all Christians

just me?

[beam me up scottie]

82. If you recall, I never mocked you.

I hate it when atheists do that.

I always call them out for it.

I bash the fundies and dogma as often as I can, but I never bash someone's faith.

I just don't.

[SPKrazy]

83. Okay, So Why Have You Been Dogging Me About This? n/t

[beam me up scottie]

84. Because you told me to shut up.

For some reason, I go batshit when I think I'm being told to shut up.

I was the same way during the DU pope-apalooza wars.

I think it may be because I've had to shut up about my opinions for so long I can't remember what it's like to be an out of the closet atheist.

Sort of a backlash and yes, I know, totally irrational.

I'm sorry for jumping your posts.

[SPKrazy]

85. Okay

I really only said (i think) that I didn't like having my beliefs mocked and didn't understand why people felt it necessary when I am a liberal/progressive just like most people here are.

that's all

peace

[beam me up scottie]

87. I look forward to reading your posts here in the future.

I don't always agree with your opinions but that's why we're both here, I think.

I have learned a lot from the liberal believers in this forum and I don't enjoy offending anyone-well, maybe the fundies at work.

I've revised many of my posts and decided to not post others at all because I realized they would be offensive to you guys.

Don't forget I was born and raised without religion so it's not easy to figure out why things I say might offend others.

But understanding why something offends isn't as important as knowing that it does.

Please let me know if I do cross the line.



Peace.

[papau]

91. Will do - that is - I will let you know when you cross the line - but

tonight you have been on your good behavior - and get a gold star!

:-)

[SPKrazy]

93. Deal!

and without sounding like a "dittohead"

I'll instead say, same goes for me!

[beam me up scottie]

107. Glad we're back together!

Send the next unnecessarily insulting atheist my way, we'll revoke their badge and take away their rubber chicken.:D

[varkam]

95. Well you probably won't believe me..

since, after all, I am a member of the "evil atheist posse". I forget what the context was, but a Xtian made a post that was meant to illuminate on the OP that I thought was very well thought out and respectful. Then, someone replied and jumped all over him for his beliefs. BMUS came to his (the theist's, that is) defense).

BMUS doesn't mince words, and that might offend some people - but that doesn't mean one can't be afraid to call BS when they smell it on either side of the aisle.

[American Tragedy]

69. You know, I've always suspected that it's truly higher than 15%.

I'm skeptical of the polls themselves, and I also know so many people who would not self-identify as atheist or agnostic, either for social or personal reasons, but are totally unreligious and for all practical purposes match the description.

As for me, I like to think of myself as a naturalist. I'm uncommitted enough to irritate both ends of the spiritual spectrum, though I'm probably closest to an agnostic.

[Minnesota Libra]

50. I voted for "confused" because I don't think I'm the only one going.......

....through the process of questioning "the traditional neocon/fundie view of religion/Christianity".

[sutz12]

53. Vonnegutism

The Church of God the Sublimely Indifferent.

[mcscajun]

58. This won't give you a true picture of DU

for the simple reason that it's in the R/T forum...and place many do not go, and as more religious and spiritual people will visit this forum that us atheists/agnostics/humanists, that will skew the results. Or not. :)

I rarely stumble in here...and I haven't taken the poll yet. You're probably going to find more religious people than areligious people after you're done, because of where the poll is located. If it were in GD, you might find completely different results.

I'm going to vote now. :)

[Popol Vuh]

86. Out Of Body Projecting Atheist

free e-book

[nemo137]

92. Some Breed of Christian.

Trying to pin me in with any particular sect or ideology is a worthless dance, though.

[ozone_man]

98. 54% atheist?

I'm assuming that the 26% agnostic are agnostic atheists :), not agnostic theists. 28% atheist added to 26% agnostic yields 54% who don't believe in God, and are therefore atheists. Perhaps a less confusing poll would be to simply say whether one believes in God or one doesn't. Gnostic or Agnostic refers to what one knows or doesn't know about God, not what one believes. It's perfectly fine to believe that God exists or doesn't, but at the same time don't know whether God exists or doesn't. In that light, most people are agnostic with repect to their knowledge of God, but are still either theist or atheists. Hence the four categories:

gnostic theist
agnostic theist
agnostic atheist (weak atheist)
gnostic atheist (strong atheist)

Generally, only the strong atheist or gnostic atheist can say that he asserts or knows that God doesn't exit. Most atheists don't make such a strong claim, but rather believe that God doesn't exist, or if some prefer, lack a belief in God.

It works the same way for theists. Most are agnostic theists. For to have faith means that they don't know. Isn't that sort of the point of faith?

In lie there are very few things that we can say that we know with 100% proof, yet we may still be quite certain. An example may be crossing the road in traffic. We are quite certain that a car is not coming when we are crossing, for to be wrong might be deadly. But it is difficult to say that we know there is no car coming. Our senses are sometimes fooled, or we can have an illusion, blind spot, etc. So, at some point we have to separate what we know from what we believe. Two separate attributes, belief and knowledge. Either you believe a car is coming or you don't. That belief is compatible with the knowledge of whether a car is coming, if such knowledge is obtainable.

know car coming | believe car coming
don't know car coming | believe car coming
don't know car coming | don't believe car coming
know car not coming | don't believe car coming

Going back to belief in God, the way theist is defined requires a positive affirmation of belief, so if a positive belief in God is lacking, then those would fall into the (a)theist category, which includes those who don't know what they believe also. But, I think most will either believe or not believe in God and not be on the fence so to speak, which says nothing about what they know about God.

[Strong Atheist]

99. Guess where I fall in your system?

;) :rofl:

[ozone_man]

101. I know where you fall.

Oops, I mean I believe the category you fall into is one who asserts or knows as well as believes that there is no God. You would be a gnostic atheist. :)

I'm half way in between the agnostic atheist and the gnostic atheist. I like a sliding scale. My doubts that a god exists are very high, approaching that of certainty, but I can't say that I know there are no gods of any type in the universe or multiverse. But I think I can say that there is no personal God with 100% certainty.

[Maat]

102. Metaphysical - New Thought - Religious Scientist.

We're universalists who honor all spiritual paths, and who believe that Spirit is both within and without. We believe that Jesus of Nazareth was a Master Teacher, as were the other leaders, and that we are all equally divine. Spirit is available always to help us with our goals.

( www.rsintl.org - we're not Scientologists or Christian Scientists )

[Maat]

104. I've seen poll after poll like this ..

and, to me, it means that about 1/3 consider themselves to be Christian, another 1/3 consider themselves to be atheists, and the rest are 'other.' But I don't believe that all agnostics are atheists, or vice versa, although some, like BMUS, consider themselves to be agnostic atheists. That's what has been consistent with respect to these polls, however.

[uppityperson]

111. Secular Humanist

need "other"