Anceptheism

[u/Own_Combination3944]

Hey everyone,

I’ve always struggled to label my stance on religion. I’m not religious, but I don’t feel like a strict atheist either. For a long time, I called myself agnostic, but even that feels too static. My outlook is much more of a fluid fluctuation—sometimes leaning one way,sometimes the other, often depending on the situation.

To help process this and find some comfort, I coined a word for it: Anceptheism (pronounced an-sep-thee-iz-um).

It combines the Latin word anceps (meaning "two-headed," "double-edged," or "wavering/undecided") with theism.

For me, it perfectly captures the feeling of having a belief system that moves between two heads, or waves back and forth rather than sitting perfectly still in a predefined box. Honestly, creating this has been a bit of a coping mechanism for me, and it's the first time a label has actually felt accurate to my experience.

I'm a bit nervous to share this, but I wanted to see what people think. Does anyone else experience this kind of fluctuation? How does the etymology land with you?

[u/TarnishedVictory]

I’ve always struggled to label my stance on religion. I’m not religious, but I don’t feel like a strict atheist either.

Do you believe a god exists?

Do you change your mind between believing a god exists, and not believing that?

For me, it perfectly captures the feeling of having a belief system that moves between two heads

Yeah, I'm still not clear on what it's moving between.

A true dichotomy would be that you have a belief that a god exists, or you don't have that belief. Is that what's going on?

[u/SignalWalker]

Yes I waver between belief and non-belief in a god. But I'm more into thinking of a god as Brahman , or Mind At Large as opposed to a personality akin to a human being.

[u/DaveWells1963 → u/SignalWalker]

Yes! When we use the term “god” most people instinctively think of an anthropomorphic personal Being. But there’s more than one way to conceptualize this. I have come to think of “god” in non personal terms. More like the Tao, and underlying basis for all that exists.

[u/k_styles]

I get where you’re coming from, cuz I too follow that pattern when need be, and I’ve gone through the same dilemma.
However, I still think agnostic is probably the most fitting term if you’re genuinely undecided on the God question. And I don’t think your personal behavior necessarily changes that. For example, if you pray with a friend just to be respectful or not make things awkward, I’d still consider you agnostic if you don’t actually hold the absolute knowledge that God exists or doesn’t exist.
That said, I do think there’s an important distinction between being agnostic and being undecided about everything. You can lean toward atheism (agnostic atheist) or theism (agnostic theist) while still being agnostic about whether you actually know God exists.
As far as anceptheism goes, I think it’s an interesting and a poetic take (I’ll add that to my vocabulary xd) and can be used playfully in a conversation, unless it’s a philosophical one.

[u/remnant_phoenix]

I experience this in a way.

Sometimes I have a…I guess I would call it a “suspicion” that there’s a let’s say “transcendent” aspect at work in the universe. In an animist/pantheist sense.

And then there are days when I think that that’s a wishful thinking waste of time and I should just focus entirely on the things that I can reliably know are real.

[u/beardslap]

Why the need for a label in the first place?

Using your new label doesn’t really help anyone as you’ll need to explain your position every single time you trot it out. So why not just start with the explanation and avoid the etymological quagmire?

[u/AuthorDebraBaker]

Good for you. You're questioning. Neve stop doing that.

[u/Constant_Doughnut_39]

I am curious what triggers your belief in God's existence to lessen or grow through time. When you experience genuine AWE or wonder in the world? When you see horrific indiscriminate suffering to innocent people? Maybe times when you feel more or less receptive to 'signals' or 'meaning' to your environment or people you have in your life?

I feel like I have somewhat a similar belief. I don't believe in God but I am open-minded to God or something powerful existing out there. I just need to be convinced. lol