too many atheists identify as 'agnostic' or they say something like 'im not religious...im spiritual...'
Why do you assume agnosticism is a stealth form of atheism ? They are just different positions with different theoretical bases.
In terms of definition they aren't mutually exclusive - one deals with 'knowledge', the other mere belief. That of course doesn't matter to everyone. There are people who would rather identify as agnostic because there are those whom would start being rather unfriendly if they identify as atheist. "Atheist" has a certainty to it for many people that they aren't uncomfortable with, so some will identify as agnostic to say they aren't a believer but not make the believers they are talking to get all up in arms about it. It reminds me of a story I heard about a woman whose mother found out she was an atheist telling her "Not believing in God is one thing, but an atheist!?"
Well, I for one consider myself as an agnostic, yet I think my position toward religious institutions is probably more hostile than that of many atheists.
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