To whom do atheists pray, given that they do not believe they are “under God?”

Living our lives “under God”

by Gary L. Welton

The American Humanist Association has renewed the efforts of some atheists to remove the words “under God” from our Pledge of Allegiance. The organization argued recently in the Massachusetts Supreme Court that the inclusion of these words is a violation of atheists’ religious liberty and equality.

In “A Farewell to Arms,” Ernest Hemingway claimed that, “All thinking men are atheists.” Yet his characters, when faced with threats and struggles, often turned to prayer. To whom do atheists pray, given that they do not believe they are “under God?” Why do atheists pray? Is there not an inherent inconsistency between prayer and atheism?

Theistic behavior among those who claim to be atheists is common in literature. In his novel “The Cardinal of the Kremlin,” Tom Clancy penned, “God knows, was his unconscious reply. So strange that after a few days of war even the most adamant atheist invoked the name of God.”

In “The Weight of Water,” Anita Shreve marked, “I rhythmically recited the Lord’s Prayer over and over, even though I am not a religious woman. I found the words soothing.”

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