they simply don't know.
And many of those simply don't care either.
Why is it essential for someone to be able to definitively answer the question "Do you believe in God?". What is the problem with saying, "I don't know"?
The only reason I can see that people so vociferously argue for this is that they feel there are two teams, when in fact, there are not.
As I stated previously, the fastest growing group in the country are "nones" and they have been described as those with no particular religious affiliation. However, many of them maintain that they have some kind of spiritual beliefs and some just don't have an opinion either way. Still, others will be able to answer the question about a belief in god - some yes, some no.
I think Dawkins (and others) had to take the position of eliminating the category of pure "agnostic" in order to make a point and give more credibility to the growing group of open atheists, but I don't buy it and never had.
We may be at an impasse here. I did not mean to dismiss your experience. I think it's valid and meaningful. I also think it may be easier to have a clear answer to the question, whatever that answer is.
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