To Agnostics, question for you

[Whateverist]

I took the label at the very beginning when I decided to abandon religion, but to me the term seems to indicate that I was seeking answers. The atheist does not believe, and that is pretty much that. The agnostic does not know for certain, and I figured that if I had any real doubts or some desire to know for sure, I'd be searching. Seeing as I was not, I think atheist applies best.

Looks like a point on which we can very reasonably disagree.

I don't think either term goes very far in telling you who I am. Both are just items on the long list of things I am not:

Q: Do you believe in gods? A: No, I guess that makes me an atheist.

Q: Do you know if gods exist? A: No, I guess that makes me an agnostic.

Both labels carry baggage. As you say, "agnostic" leaves it open for people to wonder if you're actively trying to figure it out. Many people also seem to think it means you assign a higher likelihood of there being a god than an atheist would. But both of those are just misunderstandings. I still don't know that there are no gods, so the label still flows from the answer given to that question.

As we see here everyday many people also misunderstand what it is to be an atheist. They think we hate god. They think atheists make the claim that gods do not exist. They think we're all alike in lots of irrelevant ways when all we know for sure is we answered no to the belief question.

I'm not putting "atheist" or "agnostic" on my gravestone or my business cards. Neither question gets at who we are .. except insofar as we live in a time when so many people are still religious and too many want to legislate on biblical principles.