a·the·ism
ˈāTHēˌizəm/Submit
noun
noun: atheism
disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.
synonyms: nonbelief, disbelief, unbelief, irreligion, skepticism, doubt, agnosticism; nihilismag·nos·tic
aɡˈnästik/Submit
noun
plural noun: agnostics
a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.
synonyms: skeptic, doubter, doubting Thomas, cynic; MoreDictionary definitions are one thing, cultural assumptions are another. Often people think an agnostic is someone on the fence who can be swayed one way or another. Which is why many just identify as aetheist - they’re not going to claim they know without a single doubt there is no God, but they’re not religious in any way and live life as if there almost definitely isn’t.
I hate labels either way. Once you say you’re one thing or another people start to assume things about your beliefs. In my mind, saying you’re atheist shouldn’t imply anything except that you’re not religious and don’t believe in God. But some people think as if it’s a religion itself.
As for the president asking citizens to pray, it’s obviously not a big deal, but it is one of the many ways religion has wrongfully ingrained itself in our government. So yeah, it’s not a big deal, but it’s not completely okay either.
Words have definitions.
Words also have connotations, misunderstandings, and, of course, more than one specific definition.
Ultimately, it comes down to this for me. I think being an agnostic is just a subset of atheism (or of theism, depending on where you’re leaning, this is where the more specific definitions come in). So when I identify as an atheist (which I don’t often do, sometimes I just say I’m not religious), I don’t think I’m really ignoring anything but the strictest definitions of the word. I tend not to identify as an agnostic because that brings along with it certain assumptions that aren’t in Merriam Webster and don’t apply to me.
Words have meaning beyond what’s written in the dictionary.
Maybe, but dictionary definitions shouldn’t be ignored. Otherwise, words don’t have any real meaning and they just mean whatever each individual wants them to mean. What if I tried to call myself an athiest? How would you show I was wrong to do that? By showing me the definition, that’s how. Words have definitions.