The theistic probability spectrum, or Dawkins scale: what is it?

A scale that serves as a guide to whether one is more inclined to believe in God or atheism.

Religion is a topic of conversation capable of generating the most ardent discussions, but we often forget that there is no such thing as religion.But we often forget that there is no single way of believing that one or more gods exist.

Like virtually all psychological characteristics related to belief systems, there is a spectrum of intensity ranging from obsession with the idea of the divine to a total absence of belief through various states of uncertainty.

It is this idea of belief in gods following a continuum that led biologist Richard Dawkins to create a scale, something that is known as the theistic probability spectrum.. Let's look at what this concept proposed in his book The God Mirage and how it helps us to position ourselves before religion and the belief in a god (or more than one).

What is the theistic probability spectrum?

The fundamental idea that gives rise to the creation of the theistic probability spectrum, also known simply as "the Dawkins scale", is that we can use extreme values in the intensity with which it is possible to believe in one or more gods to, using those extremes as a reference and creating intervals between them, that scale that goes from the total certainty that the divine exists to the total certainty that there is nothing that can be qualified as such. anything that can be qualified as such.

Thus, Dawkins' scale goes beyond the dichotomous idea that one can be a believer or a non-believer, and establishes several intermediate categories. Likewise, its design makes it less likely to define a believer or non-believer, its design makes it less likely to define oneself as a pure agnostic than it does a pure agnostic.The Dawkins scale, since there are more options to choose from and therefore the possibilities of not opting at all for either theism or atheism are reduced.

Degrees of belief in God according to the Dawkins scale

Next we will see the categories that Richard Dawkins proposed to establish this scale between theism and atheism. It should be noted that although it can be used for any theistic religion, it was designed specifically for Christianity and Abrahamic religions in general and their concept of God.

1. Strong theist

This end of the Dawkins scale expresses absolute certainty that God exists. It is still a belief, but it is a belief for which there are practically no doubts or moments of vacillation. there are practically no doubts or moments of hesitation..

2. De facto theist

In this second degree of theism, less extreme than the previous one, there are certain doubts about the existence of God, but they are sufficiently insignificant that in practice the person defines himself as a theist without any problem. in practice, the person defines himself as a theist without any problem, and generally acts as if the deity exists.and generally acts as if the deity exists.

3. Agnostic close to theism

This is a form of weak agnosticism in which there are serious doubts that God exists, but it is considered more likely that he does exist. it is considered more likely that a deity exists than the contrary..

4. Completely unbiased agnosticism

Represents a category completely equidistant from the extremes represented by theism and atheism. It is believed that There is an equal chance that God exists as there is that He does not exist..

5. Agnostic close to atheism

Following the symmetrical structure of the theistic probability spectrum, it can already be intuited that this category corresponds to those who believe that there is a greater chance that God does not exist than that he does exist.but these are not very far from the 50% represented by the completely unbiased agnostic.

6. De facto atheist

There are some doubts about the non-existence of God, but in general, people live as if the it is lived as if the divine only exists as a historical and anthropological phenomenon, and not beyond nature.and not beyond nature.

7. Strong atheist

This is the second category located at one end of the spectrum of theistic probability, and represents the total absence of belief in God, or what is the same, the certainty that God does not exist.

The characteristics of this gradation

It should be kept in mind that the Dawkins scale is not a tool to measure the intensity with which a person adheres to the norms established by a religion or by ideologies that are contrary to any other. or ideologies contrary to any religion. In any case, it serves to measure the intensity with which one believes in the existence of one or more gods from a theoretical point of view, without more implications than that.

Thus, it cannot be used to establish whether a person is more or less it cannot be used to establish whether a person is more or less fundamentalist, whether he or she wants to impose his or her religious dogmaswhether he or she wants to impose his or her religious or anti-religious dogmas on others, etc.

On the other hand, if we judge the theistic probability spectrum as a tool available for use in psychology, it is easy to find many problems with it.

First of all, there are the typical limitations of instruments based on introspection and self-assessment.. For example, it is not the same to say that one is totally agnostic as to behave as a totally agnostic person. Between the ideas associated with the self-concept and actual behavior in specific contexts there is a distance to consider.

Secondly, the Dawkins scale is based on such abstract concepts that it is very difficult to understand exactly what each person is thinking when he/she answers what he/she answers. when they answer what they answer.

For example, some may try to place themselves on this scale by having in mind a very traditional and humanized version of the Christian god, others may do so by assuming that the Christian god is something much more abstract and far removed from human understanding, and still others may do so by assuming that "God" simply means a form of intelligence capable of designing nature and indifferent to notions of good and evil.

All things being equal, depending on what one thinks the concept of "God" represents, it will be easier to answer one way or the other.Since some versions of the deity have more characteristics associated with it and others have fewer (making it less likely to be mistaken if it is claimed to exist), it will be easier to answer one way or the other, depending on what one thinks the concept of "God" represents.

Thus, the theistic probability spectrum serves more as a tool for reflection, and less as a resource for obtaining meaningful statistics.

Bibliographical references:

• Dawkins, R. (2013). The mirage of God. Barcelona: Booket.