# Atheist equivalent to prayer **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2015, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024 "2015-10-09T13:31:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/41 "2015-10-10T05:01:37Z")
When I need a meditative state, I go for a walk through the park or sit in the shade of a tree and watch the birds and butterflies. It’s not exactly emptying my mind, I’m usually thinking about something specific, but it’s very relaxing while not quite napping. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/42 "2015-10-10T05:23:53Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Pascal’s Wager. To which mythical entity do I address my perfunctory and pro-forma plea? Take a couple hours and pray to 'em all? Homer Simpson had [one of the best responses](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f8/5f/c3/f85fc3df078c08e437e7345aa7137061.jpg) to Pascal’s Wager. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/43 "2015-10-10T06:23:07Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I used to pray when I was worried about something. My belief in God was never as strong as it was when I was scared out of my mind. That’s described in Spanish as “someone who only believes in St Barbara during storms”, St Babs being the patron saint of storms and other things that go boom. Pretty common. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/44 "2015-10-10T06:49:59Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > What you don’t understand is the simple logic of it. You’re about to die. You have two choices, A. accept that this is the end of the line and, well, nothing. B. Accept that a prayer might bridge the gap and put you on the fast track to an afterlife. > > What investment is involved? What returns are possible? So, the nurse beside while you lay there dying asks if you’d like her to call a reverend and hope for the best, or a mortician and, well, you won’t need to get dressed up because you got no place to go. This is flat-out trolling. It has nothing to do with the topic. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/45 "2015-10-10T06:51:16Z")
I lay in the bed every night with my daughter and my two dogs and two cats and I feel us all breathing together. The cats are purring and my old dog has a little twitch in his sleep. My daughter sighs deeply and throws an arm over me. That is my meditation and my comfort. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/46 "2015-10-10T09:42:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > You’re confusing incoherent semiconscious rambling for prayer. There’s a difference? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/47 "2015-10-10T13:04:44Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > What you don’t understand is the simple logic of it. You’re about to die. You have two choices, A. accept that this is the end of the line and, well, nothing. B. Accept that a prayer might bridge the gap and put you on the fast track to an afterlife. > > What investment is involved? What returns are possible? So, the nurse beside while you lay there dying asks if you’d like her to call a reverend and hope for the best, or a mortician and, well, you won’t need to get dressed up because you got no place to go. I would not want a strange guy in a collar hovering over me during my last moments on this earth, distracting me from being able to reflect on my life and everything I’ve seen and experienced. And if a prayer is the only thing that will get me to the afterlife and not all the good I’ve done during my life, then I don’t want the afterlife. Give me “nothing” please. I didn’t have any use for mind games while I was living. Why would I suddenly embrace them on my deathbed? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/48 "2015-10-10T13:35:38Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > That’s described in Spanish as “someone who only believes in St Barbara during storms”, St Babs being the patron saint of storms and other things that go boom. Pretty common. And believers try to claim that there are no atheists in foxholes. Same story, same error. I also never prayed in dire straits when I was a theist. It never occurred to me to do it. My car was siding down a hill, out of control on ice, and there was a drop off and then a bigger drop off or a tree. In the five seconds I had to think at all, I thought, “So, this is what it feels like to die in a car accident. Fuck.” I don’t consider prayer then reject it. I also don’t consider singing a Backstreet Boys song then reject it. ---
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/49 "2015-10-10T14:04:30Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Atheist’s only pray the last few minutes of their life. Yeah, just ask some Christians about Darwin, Voltaire, Ingersoll or read about the many other deathbed conversions they will tell you about, or the no atheists in foxholes. There needs to be a cite just on Christian urban legends. > [@Morgenstern](#): > > What you don’t understand is the simple logic of it. You’re about to die. You have two choices, A. accept that this is the end of the line and, well, nothing. B. Accept that a prayer might bridge the gap and put you on the fast track to an afterlife. > > What investment is involved? What returns are possible? So, the nurse beside while you lay there dying asks if you’d like her to call a reverend and hope for the best, or a mortician and, well, you won’t need to get dressed up because you got no place to go. There are many things absurd about Pascal’s Wager, the logic fails on so many levels, and it’s been covered extensively on SD, or so I would have thought. I expect this from newbies to SD, but you’ve been here since 2007 and still don’t know any better? (tsk tsk, waiving finger back and forth.) ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/50 "2015-10-10T14:34:21Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I don’t consider prayer then reject it. I also don’t consider singing a Backstreet Boys song then reject it. Why ya gotta talk shit on da Boys? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/51 "2015-10-11T00:48:28Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Atheist’s only pray the last few minutes of their life. > [@Morgenstern](#): > > What you don’t understand is the simple logic of it. You’re about to die. You have two choices, A. accept that this is the end of the line and, well, nothing. B. Accept that a prayer might bridge the gap and put you on the fast track to an afterlife. > > What investment is involved? What returns are possible? So, the nurse beside while you lay there dying asks if you’d like her to call a reverend and hope for the best, or a mortician and, well, you won’t need to get dressed up because you got no place to go. As has been noted, this really has nothing to do with the OP’s question. If you want to keep this going, start another thread. Don’t derail this one any further. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/52 "2015-10-11T00:49:31Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > This is flat-out trolling. It has nothing to do with the topic. Please don’t make trolling accusations outside of the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/53 "2015-10-11T02:26:54Z")
My ex wife is sponsoring a young man in AA, she instructed him to say some prayers. He informed her that he was an atheist and there wouldn’t be any point in praying to something he didn’t believe existed. She instructed him to just go through the motions whether he believed in it or not. ``` I don't know if he is just saying this to get browny points and fit in or not but he claims within 3 days of starting his prayers he started feeling a lot better after his prayer sessions. He is still an atheist but he really loves saying his prayers. I think it is just a matter of each day taking a little time to be real honest with yourself and build your character. I doubt everyone needs this but for those that do it seems to be an effective tool. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/54 "2015-10-11T14:00:35Z")
Prayer won’t grow an amputee a new limb, but it can be a cheap placebo fix for some, even though it often is temporary. Some, with a lot of adulation and encouragement from their family members, friends and their AA group–and a lot of determination and work on their own can make it a long-term solution. I know they like to give credit to God in AA, but I think they are not giving themselves enough credit. Nor would I think others appreciate their accomplishment as much in those groups, if you weren’t acting humble and giving God credit. Groups like that also tend to ostracize if you don’t go along, and that isn’t no fun. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/55 "2015-10-11T16:36:42Z")
As the Atheist death-bed prayer myth has now been put to bed let me get back on topic. As an atheist I undertake no prayer or equivalent. I do enter periods of deep and clear contemplation on the nature of…well, nature and the universe in general. Normally during walks in the mountains or floating in hot bubbly water. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/56 "2015-10-12T07:33:21Z")
As an atheist, I find that wishing for something is my equivalent to prayer and also produces the same results. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/57 "2015-10-12T11:03:31Z")
> [@Dereknocue67](#): > > As an atheist, I find that wishing for something is my equivalent to prayer and also produces the same results. Not sure why prayer is always associated with asking for something. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/58 "2015-10-12T11:14:03Z")
Prayer to me is a heart to heart connection and communication, to any ‘spirit’, if that be to God or Goddess (which I see as all spirit everywhere as one), angels, the universe, other humans, animals (pets), nature, even self (as we are also one with God in ourselves). So I believe all Atheist pray, they just don’t recognize it as prayer, Them not knowing they pray or not believe in God does not matter at all in this. Their prayers may or may not be as effective, but they still go out through what God has designed and does cause God’s love to reach them. In that their is no ability not to pray, there is always a connection, no matter when we are in our beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/59 "2015-10-12T11:18:01Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > We still hope. We just don’t pin our hopes on any mythical or supernatural agency. Yep. My motto is “Non credo sed spero”. > [@Mikeisskeptical](#): > > I am not familiar with this concept of ‘not the right time/place for Oreos’ and frankly, I don’t think I want to be. I think “in the shower” would qualify unless you’re actively keeping the Oreos dry. Come to think of it, if I could guarantee dry Oreos, eating them in the shower while crying is quite an attractive proposition. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024/60 "2015-10-12T12:13:57Z")
Good question. As an atheist who sometimes prays, I don’t really do that. I suppose when the congregation says “may God grant wisdom to our leaders” I am on-board with the “wise leaders” part, but wishing is rarely a focus of my prayer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheist-equivalent-to-prayer/734024.md?page=4)