Thursday 2 February 2012

Agnosticism / Atheism: Brad Pitt: Agnostic / Atheist

Agnosticism / Atheism
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Brad Pitt: Agnostic / Atheist
Feb 2nd 2012, 12:00

Brad Pitt has revealed in interviews both atheist and agnostic perspectives. There aren't many famous people willing to come out as an atheist or an agnostic, though it's probably easier for someone like Brad Pitt because he's unlikely to lose a job or lose family members because of it. And, if more people like him do come out, it could make it easier for others as well.

"I grew up very religious, and I don't have a great relationship with religion," Pitt tells The Hollywood Reporter in their new cover story. "I oscillate between agnosticism and atheism."

In 2009, the star discussed his unease with God, saying that he was "probably 20 percent atheist and 80 percent agnostic. I don't think anyone really knows. You'll either find out or not when you get there, until then there's no point thinking about it."

Source: Huffington Post

What does that mean, exactly, 20% atheist and 80% agnostic? Well it doesn't really mean anything -- unless you define atheism as "being sure there is no god" and agnosticism as "not being sure if there is a god." Under those definitions, it could make a lot of sense to "oscillate between being sure and not being sure." Under those definitions, it could make a lot of sense to say you're "20% sure there's no god and 80% unsure."

But we know that while those definitions have been popularized by Christian apologists, they aren't accurate. So what are the implications for what Brad Pitt believes? Well, he's definitely agnostic, including under the correct definition: not claiming to know for sure if any gods exist or not. Everything he says points towards agnosticism and nothing towards the opposite.

But agnosticism and atheism are not mutually exclusive. Saying "I'm an agnostic" tells us that you don't claim to know for sure if any gods exist or not; it doesn't tell us what you believe. You might still believe anyway (like on faith) or you might not bother. Knowledge and belief may be related, but they are still separate issues and separate questions.

In Brad Pitt's case, I think it looks more like he's in the "don't bother" category than in the "believe anyway" category. He even says "there's no point in thinking about it," which fits in exactly with passive agnostic atheism. That's a person who doesn't claim to know for sure, doesn't bother believing, doesn't spend much time thinking or worrying about it, and perhaps doesn't even much care.

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