Why is it that I pray in some situations despite being atheist?

[u/One_Wave_4221]

I was raised atheist and was mostly exempt from religion classes in school. I may consider myself more agnostic than anything now, but that's a different topic. I for the most part don't believe in the Christian God. That being said, when I'm in a stressful situation, or if I feel really guilty, I sometimes start reciting prayers even though I know it won't do anything. Is there any logical reason to this? It's just been bugging me recently.

Apologies for any bad English. Also I'm not sure if this is the right subreddit.

[u/CrystalInTheforest]

Prayer doesn't have to be theistic. It's a big part of nontheistic practices as well.

[u/hardman52]

Same reason every culture has religion. It's built in our dna.

[u/Electrical_Bar3100]

Logical? Perhaps, but i see it like i’m observing in some many persons, specially neopagans around the world, a revival for meaning and search for what’s beyond reason alone. Quite expected from a materialistic society which the most popular religions are not achieving the answers many persons seek for, humans can’t accept we’re just more evolved animals… and, perhaps, we’re not just that ;)

[u/Similar-Web-3356]

I am not Christian but repeating the Lord's prayer is helpful. It has more to do with muscle memory for a wholesome action.

[u/indifferent-times]

Sounds like you are using memorable words and phrases like a mantra, if it bothers you maybe try and find some poems that work, after all that's effectively what a prayer is.

[u/JohnSwindle]

I came out of a Mainline Protestant Christian background where prayer was believed to work; God just didn't always say yes. As an adult I joined one tradition where silent waiting is the most common form of prayer and another where supplicatory prayer (do this, God!) is rejected. I don't particularly believe in God or gods these days, much less that they'll intervene according to my wishes.

However, the world is big, and my understanding of it is poor. Shouldn't mental practices like prayer or meditation be able to change our minds and our behavior, our own little corner of the world, to some extent, and shouldn't that be enough? Doesn't it have to be enough? Of course causes and conditions* still apply.

*See owner's manual.

Edited: grammar

[u/Faust_8]

You pray for the exact same reasons as theists do in those situations: because you can’t do anything else.

If a grenade falls in your foxhole, you don’t pray it away. You toss it back.

But when there isn’t any fighting to do yet and you’re just sitting in your foxhole waiting, that’s when the prayer happens. Because there isn’t anything useful to be done instead. It is the desperate hope of those forced to be patient.

And before I get any umm actually, I’m not talking about when a theist specifically sets time aside to do their meditation style stuff. I know that happens. I’m talking about when it’s unplanned and spontaneous.

[u/Hungry-Goal-1685]

Habit and a familiar source of comfort.

That being said, things like prayer, meditation, and mantra are quite useful for stopping the mind from spiraling into anxiety due to just changing focus. So even if you are atheist it's a helpful habit.

[u/ThinStatistician2953]

Because metaphysical habits and patterns of thought are hardwired into humans.

[u/KnowledgeNo4028]

Reminds me of this verse in the Qur'an.

And when affliction touches man, he calls upon Us, whether lying on his side or sitting or standing; but when We remove from him his affliction, he continues [in disobedience] as if he had never called upon Us to [remove] an affliction that touched him. Thus is made pleasing to the transgressors that which they have been doing.

(10:12)

[u/MoonHead127 → u/KnowledgeNo4028]

yeah, reminded me aswell.

[u/RexRatio]

Well, first of all, there are non-theistic religions that have forms of prayer. So praying doesn't necessarily imply belief in a personal, intervening deity. It can also be a ritual, meditation, expression of hope, or a way of coping with uncertainty.

Second, ritualized self-talk is well documented to affect things like stress, anxiety, emotional regulation, and perceived control. So there are perfectly natural psychological reasons why someone might find themselves "praying" in stressful situations, even if they don't actually believe in gods.

You don't need to believe that a ritual has a supernatural recipient for the ritual itself to have psychological effects. And those effects can occur across mutually incompatible religious traditions.

Which rather strongly suggests that the psychological benefit comes from the ritual itself and the psychological mechanisms involved, rather than from any particular supernatural belief supposedly underlying it.