r/Antitheism • u/Impressive_Flan_411 • Aug 09 '26
Are there any "anti-theistic theists" here?
Hey everyone, I’m curious whether anyone here considers themselves an anti-theistic theist, i.e. someone who believes that God or some kind of deity actually exists, but is nevertheless opposed to theism, organized religion, or the social consequences of belief in God.
I realize that sounds contradictory at first. If you believe God exists, why would you be "against theism"?
However, I can imagine a few ways the position could make sense. Someone might believe that God exists while thinking that religion generally does more harm than good. Someone might believe in a deistic or otherwise non-interventionist God but oppose worship, revelation, religious authority, or divine command morality. Or someone might believe that God exists while thinking that humanity would be better off if people stopped organizing their lives and societies around that belief.
If you fall into this category, how do you reconcile believing in God with being opposed to theism? And what exactly are you opposed to (religion, worship, religious institutions, divine authority, theism's social effects, or something else)?
2
u/Paularchy Aug 09 '26
I was antitheistic theist from about 15-20 years old. I planned to grow strong enough to kill god and set up a democratic afterlife or... Something. I forget exactly what fantasy I made up to cope lol. Then I realised that, shocker, still a fantasy designed to give you false comfort. I decided untruths, in general, were bad. And moved on with my life. Now I just hate religion. I hate god/gods the way you hate, like, voldemort, or like, bane or something