Richard Dawkins has popularized the Spectrum of Theistic Probability. It is a way of categorizing yourself into 1 of 7 milestones.
1. Strong theist. 100% probability of God. In the words of C.G. Jung, 'I do not believe, I know.'
2. Very high probability but short of 100%. De facto theist. 'I cannot know for certain, but I strongly believe in God and live my life on the assumption that he is there.'
3. Higher than 50% but not very high. Technically agnostic but leaning towards theism. 'I am very uncertain, but I am inclined to believe in God.'
4. Exactly 50%. Completely impartial agnostic. 'God's existence and non-existence are exactly equiprobable.'
5. Lower than 50% but not very low. Technically agnostic but leaning towards atheism. 'I do not know whether God exists but I'm inclined to be sceptical.'
6. Very low probability, but short of zero. De facto atheist. 'I cannot know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there.'
7. Strong atheist. 'I know there is no God, with the same conviction as Jung "knows" there is one.'
Dawkins also notes that he would be "surprised to meet many people in category 7." Dawkins calls himself "about a 6, but leaning towards 7 — I am agnostic only to the extent that I am agnostic about fairies at the bottom of the garden."
I would have to say that I am in category 6. It's difficult to prove or disprove God. However, a majority of the evidence leans towards there not being one.
What category are you in? Feel free to add a comment.
