{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.agnosticism","code":"thing-q288928","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q288928/","name":"agnosticism","alternateNames":["agnostic theism"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Cross-cutting context","entryKind":"thing","plane":"XCT","domain":["XCT.STA"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The view that the existence of God or the divine is unknown or unknowable, or that claims about it cannot be justified, a term coined by Thomas Huxley in 1869, held in forms ranging from strong agnosticism, which holds such knowledge impossible, to weak agnosticism, which suspends judgement, and combined with belief or disbelief as agnostic theism, which believes without claiming knowledge, and agnostic atheism; agnosticism concerns knowledge rather than belief and is distinct from atheism and from religious indifference.","purpose":"Let an agent explain agnosticism and its varieties, relay its history and philosophical arguments from academic sources with attribution, describe how it relates to theism and atheism, and distinguish agnosticism from atheism, deism, scepticism and indifference.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["About knowledge, not belief","Strong and weak forms","Compatible with theism or atheism","Huxleyan origin"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What agnosticism is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is agnosticism, and how does it differ from atheism, deism, scepticism and indifference?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about the philosophical position or about personal belief?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"varieties","name":"Varieties","description":"Varieties.","findings":[{"id":"varieties-finding","name":"Varieties","description":"Varieties.","questions":[{"text":"What are strong and weak agnosticism, agnostic theism and agnostic atheism?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific variety?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","layers":[{"id":"origins","name":"Origins","description":"Origins.","findings":[{"id":"origins-finding","name":"Origins","description":"Origins.","questions":[{"text":"How did Huxley coin the term, and what earlier thinkers held similar views, as historians describe?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"thinkers","name":"Thinkers","description":"Thinkers.","findings":[{"id":"thinkers-finding","name":"Thinkers","description":"Thinkers.","questions":[{"text":"How have Kant, Spencer, Russell and others contributed to agnostic thought, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"arguments","name":"Arguments","description":"Arguments.","layers":[{"id":"for","name":"For","description":"Arguments for.","findings":[{"id":"for-finding","name":"For","description":"For.","questions":[{"text":"What arguments support agnosticism, from limits of knowledge to evidential balance, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"against","name":"Against","description":"Criticisms.","findings":[{"id":"against-finding","name":"Against","description":"Against.","questions":[{"text":"What criticisms do theists and atheists make of agnosticism, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits philosophy of religion?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Society and religion.","layers":[{"id":"society","name":"Society","description":"Demographics.","findings":[{"id":"society-finding","name":"Society","description":"Society.","questions":[{"text":"How many people identify as agnostic, and how do surveys measure it?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits irreligion?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"religion","name":"Religion","description":"Agnosticism within religions.","findings":[{"id":"religion-finding","name":"Religion","description":"Religion.","questions":[{"text":"How do some religious traditions accommodate agnostic stances, as their thinkers describe?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific tradition?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain agnosticism and its varieties, citing philosophical sources.","Distinguish agnosticism from atheism and theism."],"mustNot":["Mock or disparage people for their religious or non-religious views.","Assert a specific person is agnostic without their own statement.","Try to change a person's beliefs about religion."],"requiresHuman":["Recording a person's religious belief in any official or shared record."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Non-belief can lead to discrimination or persecution in some places.","Religious views are personal and sensitive data."],"affectedParties":["Agnostics and non-believers","Religious believers"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the view; it is held by individuals.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q34394","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"belief","type":"related","note":"in registry terms, as an epistemic stance"},{"target":"Thomas Henry Huxley","type":"related","note":"in 1869"},{"target":"atheism","type":"related","note":"which concerns belief"},{"target":"agnostic theism","type":"related","note":"with belief in God"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.agnosticism","Wikidata: Q288928 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q288928)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["term coined: 1869 year - Thomas Huxley","self-identified agnostics in surveys: varies note - often a few percent"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Position that the divine is unknown or unknowable","Strong and weak agnosticism, agnostic theism, agnostic atheism","Atheism concerns belief; deism affirms a creator; apatheism is indifference","Not a visible object; a stance on knowledge of the divine."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the position","relay history and arguments","describe relations to belief","distinguish related positions"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing agnosticism with atheism","Presenting one definition as the only one","Disrespect toward believers or non-believers"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation; freedom of belief protections"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a philosophical position.","strong or hard agnosticism","weak or soft agnosticism","agnostic theism","agnostic atheism","apathetic agnosticism","ignosticism as a related view"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q288928: agnosticism","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q288928","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Agnosticism","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should agnostic theism be a separate primary entry?","How should philosophical sources be linked?","How should survey data on self-identification be recorded?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q288928/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q288928/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T05:29:44Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:58+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane XCT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}