Is the Atheism/Theism belief/disbelief a false dichotomy? are there other options?

[Pyrrho]

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That is really a question of definition.  If "atheist" is defined as "not a theist," then it covers absolutely everything that isn't a theist.  If it is defined differently (and there is another common definition), then there may be middle ground.




Yes, you either have a belief or you do not have it.  You might be confused by the fact that humans sometimes have contradictory beliefs, which may make it seem like there is some middle ground when there isn't.




One can be uncertain whether one believes something or not.  That does not alter the fact that one either believes it or one does not.

So, one may not know whether one is a theist or an atheist.  But not knowing something does not mean that there is no truth about that something.




I would not call belief an experience.  I tend to think of it more as a state of being.




Okay, so you do not know whether you are an atheist or a theist.  That does not contradict the idea that you must be one or the other.  Right now, I either have some undetected form of cancer, or I do not.  I do not know which applies to me.  But one of them certainly does.

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Are you saying that a person can be uncertain consciously, and certain subconsciously?

No.  I am not saying that one is certain of anything.  I am saying that one is or is not a theist.  Just like I either have cancer or I do not have cancer.  What anyone knows about either is irrelevant to those facts.

Simultaneously?

Also, how do you know that there is no middle ground?

Because I understand the concept of negation, which is the common use of the word "not" in English.  To say:

Not X.

means anything other than X.  There is no "middle ground," because "Not X" is anything that isn't X.

Thus, I can be absolutely certain of the following sentence:

Either you are a theist or you are not a theist.

There is no middle ground because "not a theist" covers absolutely everything other than being a theist.