Same here, to all of the above.
I recognize the hypocrisy inherent in asking a deity I don’t believe it for something, and resort to merely hoping for the best. Whether this constitutes a transfer of some form of prayer to some other kind of non-specific supernatural force(s) capable of influencing probability is a matter for further metaphysical and/or semantic quibbling, but there you go. I fully admit to general wishful thinking from time to time.
Different. I don’t actually think there’s anyone there so I would feel very odd asking something that doesn’t exist for assistance.
I was raised atheist in a very christian environment and I use all of those expressions. I recently started substituting the expression “O lord of darkness” for “Oh my god”. 
To hijack/ rant a little: it really gets on my nerves that christians use it (the fact that people say things like “god help us” and the like) as “proof” that deep down they believe… so don’t fight it!
yeah - I find myself getting more and more aggervated when people ask me to keep something in my ‘prayers’ - as anything I would generally say in response is non-supportive and non-helpful - I usually respond with ‘sure’ realizing that my ‘good thoughts’ are just as helpful as my ‘prayers’ would be …
I find myself wanting to make all kinds of snide remarks to the FB wall of ‘please pray for xxx’ - again, its non-helpful, but I always want to say “you know, if prayer worked, you wouldn’t have to be asking others to pray for it as well”.
non-helpful == starting a shitstorm conversation that will not end well
I want a t-shirt that says, “Prayer: It’s literally the least you could do.”
Lifeline atheist, and I use all sorts of theistic phrases in my everyday speech. I’m not one to let fundamental beliefs about the nature of reality to stand in the way of a good idiom.
If I’m in pain or distress, I’ll say things like, “Oh, Jesus, make it stop,” but I’m not placing any more literal meaning on the phrase than when I say (often in the next breath) “Oh, fuck me, I feel like shit.”
When talking to someone else who’s having a tough time, I’ll say something like “My thoughts are with you,” never “I’ll pray for you.” Referencing a deity I don’t believe in in those circumstances feels inappropriately flippant.
Doesn’t happen.
To your last paragraph - exactly -
I think it’s the same. It doesn’t really matter what we say or what we believe in any particular moment. It’s not like God’s going to pop into existence if enough people believe in it.
This, basically.
I do the same, but I leave out the "*"s.
If I say “Oh my god,” it’s no different than any other idioms I might say that are not to be taken literally. Nobody questions whether I *really *mean it when I say “oh shit” or “fuck you.”
I was raised by atheists and we used them all the time :p. Even to this day my parents, who are pretty explicitly anti-religious, still use theistic expressions in their everyday speech. We also celebrated Christmas ( presents and decorated trees ) and Easter ( family meal, baskets of candy and decorating Easter eggs ). My folks were and are pretty sane about treating cultural artifacts as cultural artifacts and embracing the secular side of holidays.
I’ve done something similar but I’m usually pleading to nobody in particular and basically just trying to will a good outcome on my own. It’s “please, please, please…” without the god part. I also use the phrase “oh my god” fairly regularly so if my inner begging turns into “please, please, oh my god, please…” so be it and I don’t really mean anything by it.
I prayed once. It was during a particularly bad situation and was an act of “just in case” desperation so I could tell myself later that I’d done absolutely everything I could. I think I even added a “hey, just in case I’m wrong about this…” in the prayer.
Atheist here- I say God- and Jesus-related phrases all the time. I don’t see what the big deal is. I may as well be saying “Thank Zeus you’re here!”. It’s just an expression.
bloody hell works for me.
I think about who to sue.
ok. i am guilty of crying out ‘oh my gawd’ during sex.
i got called on it and i had no answer.
'oh gawd’well he or she gets them all the time i suspect.
“Bloody” being a contraction of “By Our Lady”, by the way, and Hell of course is also religion-derived. There’s no escape.
works for me better during sex than crying ‘oh my sun god’ .
bloody hell is an aussie thingy. like ‘bloody hell, here’s the coffee.’
I say “Oh god,” or “Jesus Christ” or the like. I usually say “Bless you” as well. And “If the creek don’t rise and the Lord’s willing.”
But I don’t pray. I rarely prayed when I was a believer, and I don’t pray at all now. I can think “I really hope this is true/false/okay” without any belief that my hope means anything for the universe. I might say, “Oh god!” but I’m not talking to anyone.