Atheists and Sneezing

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These customs come from the old belief that one's soul could escape one's body during a cough or sneeze. So it's nonsensical no matter what you say or what your religious ideology (or lack thereof) may be. I never say anything when someone else coughs or sneezes.

If you know someone is an atheist, you could always say "Cthulu bless you."

I usually just say "bless you" (and I'm leaning towards agnosticism right now). My atheist colleagues at work seem to have no problem with it...

Double post...

When I was in high school and my friends sneezed, I would say "f**k you", in place of bless you. It was fun, but of course I couldn't say that to everyone, so I just say nothing. I don't see the point of saying bless you, and I always hope that no one says it to me because then they might expect me to say thank you and I won't.

I thought a sneeze was a type of exorcism of a demon residing in that person, so that's why you say bless you, by sneezing they have expelled their demon and a 'blessing' is appropriate to keep the demon outl. In the case of atheists I don't think you need to say anything.

You can never really tell when one is an atheist.
I am, and I take no offense to it.

I think it's also attached to the ancient belief that breath = life. Saying "Bless You" is supposed to push the soul back into the body, or something.

But sneezing is the closest that a person can get to death in the normal course of their waking day. Apparently your heart stops for a milisecond every time you sneeze.

In Japanese, "bless you" or "gezundheit" is O-daiji ni. In case you're interested in random silly facts.

I always preferred the German one myself for two reasons. One, because let's face it, "Bless You" sounds kind of weak and sappy in comparison. And two, because O-daiji ni is related to the phrase you use when you want to keep something valuable safe. And I don't see how a sneeze or its related fluids can be that valuable.

I'm an atheist, and I say bless you. Who cares? It's a vestige from superstitious times, but I know enough not to be superstitious. It's a nice custom, it shows that you care if the person isn't feeling well. I don't hear "God bless you" very much, but if I did, I might bring up the notion that God must have caused the illness in the first place, or the pollen that caused me to sneeze, or the physical defect that makes me allergic to dust.