probably, sweetie, but he hears you anyway, and wants you to do it more often, even when there aren't tests. He loves the sound of your voice. :-)

'Strong' atheists do not pray to God since they believe there is no God. An Atheist may may say the word "God", but that word does not carry the same meaning as it would do to a theist. It is an expression, not a prayer.

No, but it does make you kind of confused. Your question's a contradiction - you're not an atheist if you believe there's a god out there to grant you favors.

Technically so, but I think it makes you more superstitious.

hippocrate- a person that tells someone that something is wrong then does it themselves. Yes but to a lesser degree...

"If you a complete atheist, and don't believe in God, but you pray to him to do well on the next test, or to have something go right in your life, does that make you a hypocrite?" You are not a hypocrite. You are simply becoming aware of the fact that there is more to you than you realise. You do not have to believe in God in order for good things to come into your life - all you need to do is believe in yourself. 'IT' isn't out there, it is in you. You already have in you what some people call God and others call a Higher-Self. You can trust it because it is a part of you. Imagine This.... God is a potato! Sounds funny and even sacrilegious, but its true! 2000 years ago the Roman and Greek empires had as the supreme being in their religious pantheon, Zeus, today the Zeus and all the other Gods of this long gone religion are called 'myths' and in about 2000 years our view of God will most likely have died out and become a 'myth' also. Disney will make a movie about God (like Samson and Hercules). The point is even if in the future we are worshiping a giant potato as the supreme being/divine creator (God) it will still be the same 'thing' - by any other name a rose will still smell as sweet. And by any other name 'God' will still be as powerful. It is still the same 'Thing' no matter what you call it, or how you envision 'it. This thing this 'God' is within you. It is within all of us. call it what you will, visualise it anyway you want. Call it 'He' call it 'She' call it 'It'. It makes no difference it is that same thing no matter what name you give it. Even if you say you don't believe in it, it doesn't matter - that won't make it go away. It is a part of you, a part of all of us, a part of the whole. I'm not a religious person, I don't think of 'It' as 'God' but I know it is there cause I can feel it working in me - I ask for what I want and 'It' delivers. It is also known by other labels - The Law Of Attraction, Universal Law, Universal Mind, God, Ghosts, Spirit etc. Labels! Just labels! Call it what you want. It's real!

Not necessarily. First let me say that just because an atheist believes there is no god does not mean that there is no god and he may be fully aware of that fact and willing to admit that he might be wrong, afterall, when it comes right down to it nobody really knows for certain despite what they may believe. A complete atheist may find himself in a desperate situation where he feels like his last resort may be prayer, just in case, he may realize he has nothing to lose and it's worth a shot no matter how slim the possibility may be to him. One similar situation I can think of is a person who does not believe in ghosts might still check under his bed......just in case. Or he may make a complete conversion on the spot. I'm willing to bet a few atheists when faced with death have converted quite quickly and had no problem with exploring the possibility of prayer.

Complete atheists do not pray to anything. Your question doesn't make sense.

Obviously you are unsure as to if there is a man upstairs or not. Your not fully athiest, because they wouldn't pray at all, but your not fully religious either, because you "don't believe in god". I think you need to make your mind up. Athiest - "Atheism is the state either of being without theistic beliefs, or of actively disbelieving in the existence of deities. In antiquity, Epicureanism incorporated aspects of atheism, but it disappeared from the philosophy of the Greek and Roman traditions as Christianity gained influence. ..." I do however think in a way its hypocrite like. An atheist wouldn't believe in praying so why do you do it? Also in the bible it says not too just pray to god just when you wan't something - think about it.

True, an atheist would not 'pray' to god as we disbelieve in its/their existance but sometimes it FEELS good to pretend that there is something there and it will help.

The only reason I can think of for a complete Atheist to pray to any deity would be out of social pressure and obligation (say, from parents). The Atheist may not be open about his/her beliefs (or lack thereof) and going through the motions. Other than that, your question is a contradiction in logic. Why would someone pray to something they don't believe in. That's like asking, "If you're a complete Christian, and don't believe in Isis, but pray to Her to do well on the next test..." I also wonder why people assume that an Atheist would gravitate towards belief in a male deity that can and will answer prayers.

Not at all, it's hard for an atheist to be a hypocrite in that way since the terms are mutually exclusive (Atheist & Theist) Whether or not any 'results' arise from the prayer is irrelevant, if you say you're an atheist and you pray to any deity, you either aren't an atheist or you fully believe that you are just speaking to yourself.

Why do people have such a hard time understanding what the difference between and athiest and an agnostic is? I don't pray! Not for tests, not for a new job, not for a big car, not for a beach front house, nothing. I work for these things (not that I actually have any of these things or even want these things). All I want a happy life with my spouse, and my kids (cats and dogs only here, and yes, we consider them our kids), and my freinds, my extended family, etc. And to not do harm. I don't care what they believe in, as long as they are doing something good. I'm sorry, I am going to give you a negative 1, just because your question does not follow logic. A "Complete Atheist" does not pray!

I suppose it would...it would show a lack of trust in your world view.

I suppose that they would not be an atheist then so, I guess so. -In the service of the Master. Thank you and God bless you!

....

But I don't pray.

No, you do NOT have to pick either following a religion or not. You can have YOUR OWN beliefs Sorry for the spelling God Bless.

I'm an atheist, and I'll admit to saying "God please let me do ...." every once in a while. I also say "Luck be a lady tonight" when I'm about to shoot craps, with equal conviction. It doesn't mean I believe in God, or Luck (or ladies for that matter). I'm pretty sure neither of these expressions help, but at least they can't hurt.

Oh, jeez, do you religious people really want to talk about hypocrisy? Come on. To answer your question, I don't think many atheists really pray on account of they're atheists. But I think I know what you mean: You're talking about the "OhGodOhGodOhGod" Effect, right? This is when an atheist will sound, to the untrained ear, like a religious person. For example, during a horrific car accident atheists will shout out "OhGodOhGodOhGod!" In most cases it's just an expression, or a reflex. I myself will mutter "Oh God, don't let me fail; my GPA can't take that kind of abuse!" on occassion before (or during) a test. But I'm not actually praying, it's just a by product of my upbringing in a religious family where people pray for everything ALL the time. I'm not praying, so if God actually answered I would most likely die of shock. If an atheist does seriously pray (regardless of whether their prayers come true) then, yes, that does sound pretty hypocritical. But, like I said, atheists are not really the religious group that springs to mind when I hear the word "hypocritical."

No. I'd say it makes you superstitious like someone who won't sit in a seat #13 even though he knows that there is nothing wrong with it. . It's harmless. Don't stress it :-) +5

Oh, man, this is chuck load of stupidity today? Son, what rock did you just come out from under? It appears nobody has told you that Atheists don't pray See, boys and girls, this is the reason why homeschooling and Intelligent Design are not a good idea