Do not believe in a god but say "bless you" when people sneeze?

I've been at my current employer for going on 8 years and pretty early on it was apparent that when people sneezed here, most of the time no one said "god bless you" or "bless you" or anything really. I don't say anything myself, because I'm not a "Believer" and I think Gesundheit is something only German people should say when someone sneezes, or at all if truth be told, because most people don't say it right anyway, so it just comes across as uneducated. My wife says "bless you" because she's still got a little Catholic in her (insert joke about things being in my wife here), but I've mostly beaten the religion out of her as well (figuratively speaking of course). My son was pretty much just raised knowing there's organized religion and "daddy thinks those people are crazy, but as long as they leave him alone, more power to them". My wife thinks that even though she's mostly sure there's no "god" per say, there's merit to having your children raised by religious guidelines, that it's important to have those sort of rule sets in place to keep them on the right path. I just remember banging this girl from church when we were both 15 who got dragged to church by her parents but didn't believe in any of it either and had sex just to get back at them for making her go.

So, if you don't believe in a god that would somehow have direct control over the life of those around you based on whether or not they might sneeze, do you still say something in response when they do?

but I've mostly beaten the religion out of her as well

Because why should she have her own personal beliefs?

I say "Bless you" because it's a cultural thing. And after they sneeze the second time I tell them, "You only get one".

@Mikemcn said:

but I've mostly beaten the religion out of her as well

Because why should she have her own personal beliefs?

Come on, I said "figuratively". Mostly it just me saying, "Well, if that's what you want to believe," until she stopped.

Plus, she's still around, so I must be awesome in bed, right?

I don't say shit when someone sneezes. Motherfucker is just sneezing, it's a natural bodily reaction.

You don't say anything when someone farts, or coughs or blinks.

I just say "you're sooo good lookin'."

I don't think saying "bless you" after someone sneezes really has anything to do with religion at this point. Its more just common courtesy these days.

I'm pretty certain that the phrase has completely lost its religious meaning.

I just kind of nod, or say thanks to be polite even though I'm no form of 'believer' myself. No reason to give people shit over something simple like that.

The couple of times I've heard English speaking people say "Gesundheit", the pronounciation was actually pretty good. (I'm German)

I usually say "I bless you."

Sure, I'll say Bless You at times when someone sneezes. It's just the done thing. Much like I blaspheme on a regular basis without even really considering I could potentially offend someone. "God damn" is just something I say in situations where yelling "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKING CUNT" would be inappropriate. I don't believe in a god & don't want him damning anyone, nor am I damning this deity because I don't believe in it. It's just a thing I say.

Bless you is just an expression with no ulterior context when I use it. And presumably that's the case for most folk.

"Gesundheit" means "health" in Germany; as I've never been there and know nothing of the culture, I don't know if this is said when someone sneezes. But saying "health" doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Two more things, and the first has already been said:

@Mikemcn said:

but I've mostly beaten the religion out of her as well

Because why should she have her own personal beliefs?

The second is that you seem a bit hostile toward religion. Just a bit. The whole thing about saying "bless you" or "God bless you" is a sign of courtesy, not necessarily belief; it's the same reason that you often hear "God bless y'all and have a nice night!" or something like that at rock concerts, or that someone might say "thank God!" if something that they were worried about gets taken care of just in time.

i say jah bless because im a rasta

@SpaceRunaway said:

I say "Bless you" because it's a cultural thing. And after they sneeze the second time I tell them, "You only get one".

This, Bless You is no longer has a spiritual meaning, at least when said after some one sneezes, its a reaction you have when you realize on one else is going to say it.

I'm atheist and say bless you and god bless you all the time, it's more of a good manner thing. Actually, it seems to be about good manners than religion to almost everyone. I also put my hand on my chest when someone's reading the Pledge of Allegiance, even though it says "under god." It's just the respectful thing to do around people.

I say stop sneezing on me, or bless you

I don't say anything because I think it's stupid to do so. It's just a sneeze. People do it. No need to say anything.

I am in no way religious and I say "Bless you".

This whole thread smells like obnoxious self-righteousness. You know you're just as bad some religious people with your anti-religious attitude right?

I'd probably use bless you but since english isn't something I even use daily I don't really know. But who the hell cares since it's just about good manners. Can you use phrases like "oh my god"?

And for claritys sake I'll just say that I agree with you, there is no god.

I don't believe in God, but still have the common decency to give him a nod when I pass him in the hallway on my way to work, awkward as it may be. He's had a tough few years recently. Poor guy.

@believer258 said:

@Mikemcn said:

but I've mostly beaten the religion out of her as well

Because why should she have her own personal beliefs?

The second is that you seem a bit hostile toward religion. Just a bit. The whole thing about saying "bless you" or "God bless you" is a sign of courtesy, not necessarily belief; it's the same reason that you often hear "God bless y'all and have a nice night!" or something like that at rock concerts, or that someone might say "thank God!" if something that they were worried about gets taken care of just in time.

You're absolutely right. In any religion "bless you" is a sign of goodwill, and outside of religion it just generally con-notates well wishes for the person doing the sneezing.

I say bless you because I am not an obnoxious militant atheist scumbag

Fortunately, I don't have this problem. Most European countries use some variation on Gesundheit.

My problem is with the word "welcome" whenever I'm in Hungary. You see, the Hungarian language doesn't actually have a word for welcoming people. Hungarians just say "isten hozott", which literally means "god brought you here." If you ask me, it's borderline retarded to say a thing like that. Of course people say it mostly because it's ingrained in our culture, but when you think about it I think it sounds kinda ridiculous.

It's just being polite.

@Intro said:

I'm atheist and say bless you and god bless you all the time, it's more of a good manner thing. Actually, it seems to be about good manners than religion to almost everyone. I also put my hand on my chest when someone's reading the Pledge of Allegiance, even though it says "under god." It's just the respectful thing to do around people.

Yeah, but in fairness respect is over-rated. I'll respect someones right to do X, but in a free society they also have to put up with my opinions on X if I so wish to pass it. Such as "a pledge of allegiance to your nation is a very very silly thing." Now I'll shut up & listen respectfully to the national anthem but I'm not going to put my hand on my heart & belt it out either.

I have never met any religious individual who says "bless you" in response to a sneeze for a religious reason. It is purely a cultural thing. A nicety. I believe in God, but it doesn't mean I believe saying "bless you" after a sneeze has any sort of power over anything. That's silly. I say it because it is the courteous thing to do. I might say "good luck", too, but it doesn't mean I believe in luck. It's a well-wish. In the case of a sneeze, "bless you" is a well-wish for someone's general health and comfort.

There's no reason to berate someone just because they are performing a common social nicety.

@Canteu said:

I don't say shit when someone sneezes. Motherfucker is just sneezing, it's a natural bodily reaction.

You don't say anything when someone farts, or coughs or blinks.

This is exactly what I've always thought. What exactly makes sneezing different than coughing that warrants a "bless you" or anything else? I assume it has some historical background to it that just became part of society over time and lost any "meaning" but hell I'm way to lazy to look at wikipedia and find that out.

Either way, I also say nothing when someone sneezes. If they sneeze 2+ times, though, I usually chuckle or if their sneezes are completely insane (like someone I knew in high school) I may laugh harder.

I'm an atheist, and I don't say it, but that's just because I don't feel the need to acknowledge when someone sneezes. I don't get offended or anything if anyone says it. Also, a lot of the legends surrounding the origin of the phrase are total nonsense, so I don't think it has any religious backing in this day and age.

Along the same lines, I still say "God knows" when I really mean nobody knows. Things like this are just figures of speech.

@Rappelsiini said:

This whole thread smells like obnoxious self-righteousness. You know you're just as bad some religious people with your anti-religious attitude right? I'd probably use bless you but since english isn't something I even use daily I don't really know. But who the hell cares since it's just about good manners. Can you use phrases like "oh my god"? And for claritys sake I'll just say that I agree with you, there is no god.

Does it? It just sounds like someone asking a question about the usage of a phrase to me. Not everything has a sinister under-current. The use of language & the way words take new meaning over time is interesting.

I say "bless you" all the time and I don't have any religious beliefs.

Back when I was a Christian, I said "bless you" all the time but thought nothing of it; even then, it was more of a secular term to me

I say "bless you" to allow them to reclaim their soul that they lost while sneezing. It also protects them from evil fried chicken vagina gremlins that to horrible things to your pubic hair.

@Zenaxzd said:

@Canteu said:

I don't say shit when someone sneezes. Motherfucker is just sneezing, it's a natural bodily reaction.

You don't say anything when someone farts, or coughs or blinks.

This is exactly what I've always thought. What exactly makes sneezing different than coughing that warrants a "bless you" or anything else? I assume it has some historical background to it that just became part of society over time and lost any "meaning" but hell I'm way to lazy to look at wikipedia and find that out.

Either way, I also say nothing when someone sneezes. If they sneeze 2+ times, though, I usually chuckle or if their sneezes are completely insane (like someone I knew in high school) I may laugh harder.

Basicly people beleved when you sneezed your soul was trying to escape, so when you say bless you it stuffs it back in.

@Mikemcn said:

but I've mostly beaten the religion out of her as well

Because why should she have her own personal beliefs?

yeah this... you sound like a terrible parent and i'm ashamed to have you be part of the community.

The fact that you won't show people courtesy not because you didn't notice, or because its not your style but because you don't like the words associations is just sickening to me and spells close-minded moron.

I say "prosit" because I'm Norwegian :)

Not having English as my primary language this is just a natural response for me :) Not fully sure of the meaning, but I think it comes from German and has something to do with 'good health'. Which makes more sense to me than trying to "drive out" demons or something lol

@Zenaxzd said:

@Canteu said:

I don't say shit when someone sneezes. Motherfucker is just sneezing, it's a natural bodily reaction.

You don't say anything when someone farts, or coughs or blinks.

This is exactly what I've always thought. What exactly makes sneezing different than coughing that warrants a "bless you" or anything else? I assume it has some historical background to it that just became part of society over time and lost any "meaning" but hell I'm way to lazy to look at wikipedia and find that out.

Either way, I also say nothing when someone sneezes. If they sneeze 2+ times, though, I usually chuckle or if their sneezes are completely insane (like someone I knew in high school) I may laugh harder.

Acknowledging when someone sneezes or coughs comes from a time when even a small cold might kill someone. So, you're kindly noting that you hope their health remains well.

I think it's cultural. I say things like "oh my god", not often, but I do it and I'm agnostic. It's just a saying to me and has nothing to do with being a believer or not.

Edit: I also say "prosit" when someone sneezes.

Where I'm from we say "Prosit" which if wikipedia is to be believed means "may it gain you".

I've never understood that concept (this includes saying that German word). What's the point? "Yes, I am aware that you sneezed and am acknowledging this awareness." Is it, like, a warning to others in the vicinity?

@forkboy: I think he's referring more to his insistence on "beating" the religious faith out of his wife and focus on even the slightest possible religious undertone in a common nicety as a threat. There's an odd silliness to it all. While there is certainly an interesting topic regarding origin of the phrase in response to a sneeze, the focus isn't on origin but on the idea that "bless you" is somehow related to religious belief in a threatening way that needs to be beaten out of someone.

@PolygonSlayer said:

I say "prosit" because I'm Norwegian :)

Not having English as my primary language this is just a natural response for me :) Not fully sure of the meaning, but I think it comes from German and has something to do with 'good health'. Which makes more sense to me than trying to "drive out" demons or something lol

In Hungary we say "egészségedre", which means kind of the same thing as "good health".

I do believe in God but don't say "bless you" because it comes from a stupid superstition.

@joachimo said:

@Video_Game_King said:

I've never understood that concept (this includes saying that German word). What's the point? "Yes, I am aware that you sneezed and am acknowledging this awareness." Is it, like, a warning to others in the vicinity?

Old folk tales speak of when you sneeze, its your soul trying to escape and saying "bless you" or "prosit" will help the individual keep it in.

Though, that only accounts for a small portion of the population that have ever used it in that context. Knee-jerk well-wishes following sneezes have been around for centuries in many different cultures, and "bless you" has almost always been a more general well-wish regarding health.

@CrazyBagMan said:

I do believe in God but don't say "bless you" because it comes from a stupid superstition.

That makes no sense to me.