What is the difference between an atheist, an agnostic and a “none”?

These three words get mixed up all the time, so here is the short version. An atheist says there is no God, or at least does not believe in one. An agnostic says we don’t know, or can’t know, whether God exists. A “none” is anyone who picks atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” when a survey asks about their religion. So everyone who picks atheist or agnostic is counted as a none, but most nones pick neither.

People ask this for many reasons. Some are trying to find the right word for themselves after years of doubt. Some have a child, a partner or a friend who stopped going to church. Some saw a headline about the “rise of the nones” and wondered who these people are. All of these are good reasons, and no answer here is a score for one side.

One helpful way to see it: atheism is mostly about what you believe, and agnosticism is mostly about what you think can be known. The biologist Thomas Henry Huxley made up the word “agnostic” for people like himself, who did not claim to know the answer. By Britannica’s account, he first used it in public in 1869.

The nones are a much bigger and more mixed group. In the Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, 29% of U.S. adults had no religion. That included 5% who called themselves atheists, 6% who called themselves agnostics and 19% who said “nothing in particular.” (The figures are rounded.)

Many nones are not nonbelievers at all. In a 2023 Pew survey, 70% of nones said they believe in God or some other higher power. About three in ten said they pray at least once a month. Whatever label fits you, or none of them, you are welcome to keep asking here.