agnostic/atheist/theist model survey

This post is a survey with comments attempting to model the different types of belief systems commonly included under the umbrella of atheism and agnosticism. Theoretically for every combination of answers there exists someone in the world with that belief system.

i) In this survey, "God" refers to a being very powerful who is not human and probably created all or most of the known world.

1) From 0-100% how much do you care about the answer to the question "Does God exist?" [qty%]

a) For precision, the proper phrasing of this question probably should be "What is the percentage of decisions you make that would be affected by the difference of yes or no to the question 'Does God exist?'"
b) In addition to decisions, this question could include experiences (what you perceive, reality) and beliefs.

2a) Can we know whether God exists? [multiple choice]
i) Yes, for certain (either yes or no)
ii) We can give his existence a probability
iii) We haven't discovered the answer yet and can't give it a probability.
iv) It's impossible to know
v) All truth is relative, the question is irrelevant
vi) It's a 50/50

a) All truth is relative is sort of an odd answer. I think most people of this type do not truly believe in relative truth but say "Everyone should decide for themselves" or "Don't talk to me about that, I believe what I want to believe and you believe what you want to and let's leave each other alone." The underlying belief might be that 1 the answer does not matter or 2 can't be found or 3 there really is no God but some people imagine one to make themselves feel better, which is a personal matter. Another attitude could be that 4 discussions about religion are too painful and go nowhere so we might as well not try.
b) A possibly inferior question to 2 is 2b)

2b) If we can attach a probability to God's existence, what is it? Define 100% as absolutely certain and 0% as impossible. If there is no probability, state 'no'. [qty% or no]
i) Probability ______%
ii) Probability no applicable


b) The probability percentage question is inspired by Dawkins's "The God Delusion" which presents a probability from +100 to -100. (Dawkins is personally at near -100). I prefer 0 to 100 for mathematical reasons.
c) A probability range has the capacity to describe most other positions.100/0 percent for yes/no absolutely and 50% for 50/50 and possibly the other answers. On the probability scale it might be helpful to point out the positions very near 100 or 0 and just above or below 50%.
d) I think probability alone fails to capture the 'we don't know yet' type. (That's why I included a 'no' option). I mean, before we do tests, can we attach a probability to whether or not the earth is round? We can only use probabilities for things we have seen before or have probabilistic input. Random samples from a population can have probabilities, as could whether or not a type of concrete will pass a threshold loading test based on the performance of other concretes with similar properties, but not metaphysical reality. We haven't tested whether or not he exists. Well, maybe we can get something from tests on whether or not prayer works. We might be able to find the change that certain results would come from a randomly generated universe if we assume there were random inputs. But considering we know so little about the big bang even that is uncertain.


[Only asked if using 2a)]
3) If yes or no absolutely, please state. If a percentage, please state. If you answered otherwise to 2) but would still like to give an opinion yes, no, or a probability, please state. [yes/no/qty%]
i) Yes
ii) No
iii) Probability _____ %

4) Could the answer to 2) change? [yes or no]
i) Yes
ii) No

a) For philosophers, 2) and 4) questions could be called the epistemic (from epistemology) condition of God. That is, what is the limits of our knowledge on the subject?
b) Question 4 does not really apply to anyone except the probability and the we don't know people.


In all events classifying belief systems is difficult, no matter how hard I try. If you believe something that you don't think is at least mentioned in this post, please comment describing your beliefs and I'll modify accordingly. And just for fun, if you managed to get to the bottom of this post, I'd love it if you could comment with your answers to 1), 2a), 2b), 3) and 4).

Thanks, have a great day.