Agnostics are more indecisive, neurotic, and prone to maximizing choices, distinguishing them from atheists and Christians

A new study published in Self & Identity reveals that agnosticism represents more than mere hesitation between belief and disbelief. Research findings indicate agnostics possess a distinct psychological profile characterized by higher indecisiveness, greater neuroticism, and a stronger tendency to search for alternatives in life compared to both atheists and religious believers.

As secularization increases globally, understanding the psychological foundations of nonbelief becomes increasingly important. Previous research has primarily focused on religious belief and its variations, but emerging evidence suggests nonbelief also manifests in different psychological profiles. Atheists and agnostics, who together constitute a significant proportion of nonbelievers in both the U.S. and Europe, have often been treated as a homogeneous group. Yet earlier studies have indicated that agnostics differ from atheists in being more open-minded, ambivalent, and prosocial. These differences raise a deeper question: are agnostics merely less decisive atheists, or do they represent a unique type of nonbelief?

Researchers Karim Moise and Vassilis Saroglou investigated whether agnosticism is characterized by specific psychological traits. Their study recruited 334 adults (ages 19-82) from the UK through Prolific Academic, with participants self-identifying as Christian (102), agnostic (105), or atheist (126). The sample was gender-balanced and included participants ranging from 19 to 82 years old.

Participants completed the Big Five Inventory for personality and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for emotionality states. Indecisiveness was measured using Frost and Shows’ 15-item scale, while maximization was assessed via an adapted 11-item version of Schwartz et al.’s (2002) scale, capturing four facets: high standards, life alternative search, leisure alternative search, and shopping decision difficulty. Self-enhancement was measured using the “better-than-average effect,” comparing participants’ ratings of themselves and others across traits relevant to religionists (e.g., prosociality), atheists (e.g., rationality), and general social desirability.

Participants also completed items on religiosity, spirituality, convictional strength, and religious upbringing. Religiosity was measured using a 3-item scale on the importance of God and religion, and spirituality via a single-item index. Strength of convictional self-identification was rated on a 5-point scale, and religious socialization was coded from participant responses on their family upbringing.

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The results revealed a compelling psychological portrait of agnostics. They scored significantly higher on neuroticism and indecisiveness than both Christians and atheists, while reporting lower positive affect than Christians. Agnostics exhibited a greater tendency to search for life alternatives, suggesting they maintain a broader orientation toward keeping options open rather than simply being uncertain atheists.

Indecisiveness emerged as the most robust predictor of agnosticism, uniquely and significantly predicting agnostic identification (versus atheist) even after controlling for spirituality, religious upbringing, gender, and age. When comparing agnostics to those with firm worldviews (both atheists and Christians combined), indecisiveness again stood out as a unique predictor. This suggests agnosticism may be driven not only by spiritual openness but also by a cognitive and emotional style that resists definitive conclusions.

The study also revealed intriguing differences in self-perception. While Christians tended to rate themselves more positively on prosocial traits and atheists on intelligence-related traits (both aligning with each group’s values), agnostics showed a more balanced evaluation of themselves and others. Strong agnostic identifiers rated both themselves and others positively on traits associated with being a “nice person” without exhibiting the “better-than-average effect” seen in the other groups. This pattern may reflect a form of humility or reluctance to assert superiority consistent with the agnostic worldview.

Another interesting finding was that agnostics’ strength of convictional identity wasn’t significantly correlated with any psychological traits, whereas clear associations emerged for Christians (e.g., lower neuroticism) and atheists (e.g., lower indecisiveness and negative affect). This reinforces the view that agnosticism may function less as a fixed identity and more as a fluid, exploratory stance toward existential questions.

Limitations include the cross-sectional design and reliance on self-identification, which may not capture the full diversity within agnosticism.

The study, “Agnosticism as a distinct type of nonbelief: the role of indecisiveness, maximization, and low self-enhancement,” was authored by Karim Moise and Vassilis Saroglou.