Across families

Agnosticism and Deism

Different families with 11 axes in close agreement — the sort of pairing a quiz weighting only the divine axes would never surface. Mean distance across all seventeen axes: 0.16 (0 would be identical).

AgnosticismNon-theistic

A claim about knowledge rather than about God: the question is not settled and the honest response is suspension. Sits mid-scale on the A-group with small dispersions, because being genuinely undecided is a definite position, not a vague one.

DeismPhilosophical

A creator established by reason from the evidence of order, who does not intervene, answer prayer or reveal anything. The matrix minimum on immanence — this is the one tradition here whose God is genuinely absent from the world.

Where they agree

B3 Institutional authority
Both sit at individual conscience decides — a gap of 0.00.
E3 Locus of belonging
Both sit at an individual choice — a gap of 0.00.
B1 Source of truth
Both sit at reason and direct experience — a gap of 0.03.
E1 Exclusivity
Both sit at leaning many valid paths — a gap of 0.04.
B2 Reading of sacred text
Both sit at metaphorical, or no text at all — a gap of 0.04.
D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good
Both sit at leaning achieved by effort or insight and achieved by effort or insight respectively — a gap of 0.06.
D3 The body
Both sit at leaning to be celebrated and between to be disciplined and to be celebrated respectively — a gap of 0.06.
C3 The human condition
Both sit at leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound — a gap of 0.07.
E4 Standing of nature
Both sit at between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred — a gap of 0.07.
D2 Centrality of ritual
Both sit at optional or absent — a gap of 0.07.
A2 Personhood
Both sit at between impersonal principle or order and a personal being one can address and leaning impersonal principle or order respectively — a gap of 0.10.

Where they part company

E2 Origin of the cosmos
Agnosticism: leaning beginningless or natural. Deism: an intentional act. A gap of 0.73 on an axis running from “an intentional act” to “beginningless or natural”.
A1 Divine reality
Agnosticism: between nothing beyond the natural and a divine reality certainly exists. Deism: a divine reality certainly exists. A gap of 0.50 on an axis running from “nothing beyond the natural” to “a divine reality certainly exists”.
A4 Locus
Agnosticism: between wholly beyond the world and fully present within it. Deism: wholly beyond the world. A gap of 0.40 on an axis running from “wholly beyond the world” to “fully present within it”.

All seventeen axes

Axis	Agnosticism	Deism	Gap
A1 Divine reality	between nothing beyond the natural and a divine reality certainly exists	a divine reality certainly exists	0.50
A2 Personhood	between impersonal principle or order and a personal being one can address	leaning impersonal principle or order	0.10
A3 Plurality	leaning strictly one	strictly one	0.30
A4 Locus	between wholly beyond the world and fully present within it	wholly beyond the world	0.40
B1 Source of truth	reason and direct experience	reason and direct experience	0.03
B2 Reading of sacred text	metaphorical, or no text at all	metaphorical, or no text at all	0.04
B3 Institutional authority	individual conscience decides	individual conscience decides	0.00
C1 Survival of the self	between ends at death and continues in some form	between ends at death and continues in some form	0.15
C2 Shape of time	leaning one life, then judgment	one life, then judgment	0.18
C3 The human condition	leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound	leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound	0.07
D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good	leaning achieved by effort or insight	achieved by effort or insight	0.06
D2 Centrality of ritual	optional or absent	optional or absent	0.07
D3 The body	leaning to be celebrated	between to be disciplined and to be celebrated	0.06
E1 Exclusivity	leaning many valid paths	leaning many valid paths	0.04
E2 Origin of the cosmos	leaning beginningless or natural	an intentional act	0.73
E3 Locus of belonging	an individual choice	an individual choice	0.00
E4 Standing of nature	between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred	between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred	0.07

Positions for Agnosticism rest principally on Huxley’s 1889 essay on agnosticism and contemporary epistemic treatments; for Deism, on Paine, The Age of Reason (1794); Herbert of Cherbury’s common notions. Per-cell sources are listed on each tradition’s own page.

Which of the two is closer to you?

The questionnaire places your answers on these same axes and ranks all 65 traditions by how closely they match. Take it.