Is agnosticism a viable position to take regarding belief in a deity?
I do not think it makes sense to call yourself an 'agnostic' as if that was a position about the existence of a deity. Either you believe something or you don't, meaning either you're a theist or an atheist. If you aren't sure, then you don't believe it--that is, if you aren't sure, you're an atheist, whether you like that label or not.
To put this another way, if D is the claim there are deities, then either D or not D. There cannot be another position that is neither D nor not D. D is theism, not D is atheism.
I attribute the use of the term agnostic to someone that is not emotionally ready to call themselves an atheist (even though they are), given the connotations and misconceptions about what the term 'atheist' means.
The reason I'm posting this is because, given my arguments, I want to see what other reasons people have for why this word is usable in the context of belief.
Yes
Side Score: 1
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No
Side Score: 2
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1
point
It's a better position than Atheism. Agnosticism has no mega churches, isn't dogmatic, has no "causes" to destroy other belief systems. It is truly the only "neutral" belief. Atheism is a militant assertion that makes a claim that it cannot prove or verify, thus it is like a religion, so much so that it passes out pamphlets to the public, has churches, and takes money for its cause much like a tithe. Side: Yes
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