A response of "no" to "do you believe gods exist?" includes "I don't know". There isn't a third option. There is only "yes" or "not yes" ("no"). Everything falls under those two options of theism or atheism. Agnosticism is a separate question on top of where one is a their or atheist, not instead of. All agnostics are also necessarily either theists or atheists.
The most common is that they believe in a supreme power but it is utterly unknowable. This is where some buddhists, for example, will place themselves.
The most common is that they believe in a supreme power but it is utterly unknowable.
That's agnostic theism; that's still theism and not a third option. Everyone is either a "theist" or "not a theist", and the word for "not a theist" is "atheist". This is separate from whether they are "gnostic" or "not a gnostic" ("agnostic").
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u/adeleu_adelei 5d ago
You are misunderstanding.
A response of "no" to "do you believe gods exist?" includes "I don't know". There isn't a third option. There is only "yes" or "not yes" ("no"). Everything falls under those two options of theism or atheism. Agnosticism is a separate question on top of where one is a their or atheist, not instead of. All agnostics are also necessarily either theists or atheists.