Theistic atheism

what would you call someone who believes that deities are real but they choose not to follow them?

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The dictionary broadly defines a theist as someone who simply believes in the existence of gods. It does not necessarily imply you follow them or worship them.

You cannot be a “theistic atheist” though, because an atheist does not believe in any higher power.

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Agnostic theism fits better for what you’re going for, depending on the person’s reasons for not following said being(s).

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They would be known as a Deist

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Misotheism is the word your looking for. It literally means hated of the gods, but can also mean distrust or disinterest. A misotheist certainly believes in gods but chooses not to worship them.

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This David fellow always sets up these threads and then disappear.

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A Sinner :grin:

I think the best definition would be Theism.

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Cool thread.

Theistic atheism would seem like a contradiction in terms, but the word ‘god’ (theos) has several valid definitions. If someone says they are a theistic atheist, they’re probably interested in one or more concepts of god, but specifically disinterested in others.

Someone might answer strongly yes or strongly no to the question, “Are you a theist?”, depending on some definitions. They might not have a grey area or undecided outlook on the question like an agnostic.

Theistic atheism could be the position that one or more concepts of god or gods are true, and one or more concepts of god are false.

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Apostate.

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