---
title: "Atheism and Agnosticism"
date: "2021-08-04T13:17:21+01:00"
modified: "2021-11-26T11:43:08+00:00"
url: "https://understandinghumanism.org.uk/area/atheism-and-agnosticism/"
post_id: 2407
---

# Atheism and Agnosticism

**What do the words ‘atheist’ and ‘agnostic’ mean and why might someone not believe in a god?**

Atheists don’t believe in a god. Agnostics believe we can’t know whether a god exists or not. Many people don’t believe in a god because they don’t see any persuasive reason or evidence to do so, and the presence of so much suffering in the world makes it hard for them to believe in the existence of a good god. They rely on scientific and sociological explanations for where such beliefs might come from.