Agnostics Have More Spiritual Struggles Than Atheists—But More Positive Images, Emotions, and Motivations Around the Idea of God

How do agnostics and atheists differ in their spiritual struggles and their images, emotions, and motivations involving God? We conducted an internet survey comparing 253 agnostics with 267 atheists. Agnostics reported more spiritual struggles than atheists, including divine struggles; yet their God-focused thoughts and emotions were more positive than those of atheists. Compared with atheists, agnostics reported much stronger desires to believe in God and more positive God concepts. When reflecting on their reasons for nonbelief, agnostics cited more divine struggles, but atheists cited more negative emotion around God’s possible existence. If presented with strong evidence of God’s existence, agnostics expected more positive emotion, less anger, and less loss of freedom than atheists. When imagining a divine encounter, agnostics (vs. atheists) reported stronger desires to approach God and weaker desires to turn away. Taken together, these findings highlight key differences in God-related images, emotions, and motivations between agnostics and atheists.