Is 'Agnostic' a Nasty Word?

IT SEEMS to me that the word "agnostic" is too often abused and the diversity of agnostic ideas too little understood by individuals, both in writing for AA publications and in speaking at meetings. Frequently, the writer or speaker will describe an atheistic point of view and label it agnostic. Not-stopping with this practice, he will then proceed to use the word "agnostic" in a derogatory sense.