1 in 20 Atheists Prays Daily

Whoops! I thought they were asking if I preyed daily. My mistake!

I only pray to the Flying Spaghetti Monster when eating pasta with other atheists, which isn’t a daily occurrence.

Actually, I am inclined to interpret that as people who view “unaffiliated” to mean “I do not attend a particular church”, which would include atheists, agnostics, and the sort of person who thinks religion is fine but hates organized ritual. The article doesn’t give the wording of the question where “unaffiliated” is determined.

(That is, it isn’t that 22% of atheists pray once a day, it’s that [at least] 22% of people who self-report as “unaffiliated” are not atheists.)

I’m going with either the wording of the question skewed things and unaffiliated doesn’t mean just atheists. Though I wouldn’t discount some messing with the poll takers or possibly lying because religious family members were around at the time.

Can anyone else find these stats. I’m looking through the full report and can’t find it anywhere?

My gut it telling that the author of the story conflated or combined two numbers mistakenly. The survey in almost all questions didn’t even ask if someone was an atheist. They simply lumped us in with unaffiliated.

Praying. It’s something I did out of habit and to be socially “in place” when I belonged to an organized religion. Now, as an agnostic/atheist, I don’t feel it’s something I need in my life. Who am I praying to? What am I praying for? Why am I asking for something from someone or something that may or may not exist? And if I’m asking for something, what is it about me that I am not capable of handling it myself?

If there’s someone that needs comfort, I do my best to pass positive thoughts and vibes towards that person.

I would be curious to find out who these 5% atheists are praying to and what they are asking for.

I’m with The Vicar.

As to me: I pray zero (0) times per day.

Am I the only person who finds it odd that none of the groups have 100% daily prayers?

I am an atheist and yes, I pray. Often I do this after my morning swim where I sit quietly and “pray” that I do my job to the best of my ability that that I be a little less selfish that I was the day before.

No, no deity is going to strike me with virtue, but I find that it calms me down and helps me with my attitude.

I see this as a purely secular and naturalistic practice.

Another example: I practice yoga a couple of times a week.

No, I don’t believe in Chakras nor do I believe that, say, stretching your chest prevents a cold (yes, I’ve heard a yoga teacher say this). But I do know that a regular practice of yoga keeps my back from aching and keeps me from pulling my hamstrings when I run.

Perhaps they’re atheist unitarians?

Every now and then I will pray for one of my clients, when I feel there is nothing useful left to do. I don’t believe my prayers are heard nor answered, but it’s more of a responsibility to do something….It’s not everyday, but I certainly don’t regret one last attempt at helping someone out.

Well, I looked through the whole survey and did not see the question where it asked “do you pray or meditate”, but I know I have seen it before. Perhaps it was that way on an older version of the survey or a different religious survey.

I am a vegetarian and when I talk to people they will say that they are vegetarians as well except that they eat chicken or fish or wood-cooked venison or whatever. Some of it could be people calling themselves atheists without knowing exactly what it means.

I suspect some is godless prayer/meditation. I also suspect some self-defined atheists are using a different definition of atheist than lack of belief in a god.

Based on the anonymous drug polls in high school and the various satisfaction surveys we get (from some corporation outside the school…) in college, I can say that may people taking these polls don’t take them too seriously and are likely to just make stuff up.

I know I do.

Socialization also probably plays a role in determining if/how/how often atheists pray. I’ve never believed in, well, anything really, and as a kid always sort of thought having a religion was sort of like having a favorite color or favorite food (a mostly aesthetic choice, a statement about something you enjoy), but I do pray sometimes. Not daily (as the poll asked), and not in the hope that what I’m thinking/asking will be heard, headed or granted, but because sometimes it eels like the right thing to do at the moment.

I was raised by agnostic lapsed-Catholic lesbians, who are convinced that my life is less fulfilling then it could be because I don’t meditate or believe in “spirituality” of some sort. The Dan Savage statement about hiding out in Catholic churches in Downtown Seattle during a recent Episode of “this American Life” resonated with me for this reason. I find the concept of a god of any sort to be ridiculous, but I cross myself on airplanes.

I’m an atheist, and I pray sometimes. Not daily, but sometimes I catch myself doing it out of habit. And then I always go “Who the #%&@ are you talking to?” Old habits just die hard …

I like what ollie had to say.

The closest I come to actually praying is the occasional “Hey, um God, all these folks I love and respect seem to believe in you, and I used to as well, are you there?”

Unless the sound of a lone cricket chirping is God, I haven’t received a response yet.

I was just sent a link to this by a friend; after considering, I have decided to post (even though probably no one at this point is reading the thread). But I think I might be Mr. 5%.

I am an atheist and I do pray; I try to pray at least 30 minutes every day. I did not grow up in a religious family and never prayed as boy, so its not a comfort from childhood. And I do on occasion (wedding, funeral, bar mitzvah, etc.) go to services, but never pray or take communion. (This, by the way, is as much out of respect for my friends’ beliefs as anything else.)

Even though I do not call out to God, Zeus or the FSM, I choose to call what I do prayer, because I do look for both guidance with my own “shit,” as well as health, happiness and better days for those I know (and many I don’t) in pain and need. The construct and semantics of it, even though I do not believe in any kind of higher power or supernatural consequences stemming from my actions, seems to me to be far truer to what we think of as “prayer” than “meditation.”

I find that this has three positive impacts on me. The first is that having a space to consider my own “shit” in a way that is not in problem-solving mode… and that can be helpful.

Also, stacking up my issues (Did I lose the big account? Do the people under me at work respect me? Will my kids survive having me as a parent?) against those in true need has a way of putting things into perspective, and grounding me.

Lastly, being aware of others through prayer carries over to the rest of my day, and makes me far more empathetic and far less solipsistic than I might otherwise be. I have found that this makes me a better person… or if not better, closer to the kind of man I want to be.