How to respond to "God bless you" statements

[Bob Kelso]

I always retain a certain modicum of respect for those I don't know and I say "thanks" or "goodbye" or something equally innocuous.

If I know the person and they know I'm an atheist, I generally reply with "No thanks" if it was said offhand, but if it's intentionally supposed to piss me off I'll reply with a "Fener fend*" or "May the Force be with you".

*My uncle is a fundie who has read Malazan Book of the Fallen as well, so this reply is mostly for him since he understands it. Fener was one of the gods of war in the series and this was a common statement throughout the series to ward off evil or unwanted circumstances.

[Anomalocaris]

Any suggestions for a succinct, polite response?

Look upon them benevolently and condescendingly, like a parent looking upon an toddler making charming but ridiculous noises, but resist the urge to pat them on the head.

[BrokenQuill92]

I usually don't mind people saying it unless they're using me as their "good deed for the day"

[Aisha]

I usually don't mind people saying it unless they're using me as their "good deed for the day"

In that way I hate it more when people say they will pray for me, or add me to their prayers. Uuuhhm, I don't need that, thanks but no thanks.

When I was younger my dad told me this about Americans:

"Even total strangers act like they like you a lot, and apparently you are always blessed by god"

I always think of that when I hear those words.

I think words like that loose their meaning after they are used so often not that they have meaning to me at all. But if there are people that use them so much they will say it without even thinking about it at some point.
Just like the "Oh my god" I hear in a lot of American tv shows and movies.

[archangle]

I always retain a certain modicum of respect for those I don't know and I say "thanks" or "goodbye" or something equally innocuous.

If I know the person and they know I'm an atheist, I generally reply with "No thanks" if it was said offhand, but if it's intentionally supposed to piss me off I'll reply with a "Fener fend*" or "May the Force be with you".

*My uncle is a fundie who has read Malazan Book of the Fallen as well, so this reply is mostly for him since he understands it. Fener was one of the gods of war in the series and this was a common statement throughout the series to ward off evil or unwanted circumstances.

try tank you.

If it bothers you that much you mite want to see someone for help.

[SteelCurtain]

Again, my point is the PR from letting people know that atheists exist, and we can be good people. What if that kind old lady is a nice person who just assumes all nice people must be Christian like her? Introducing her to some nice people who aren't Christian would be an education to her, and could help in the long run with ending religious discrimination.

To put it in context, I keep saying this is like the PR job the LGBT crowd has done. Thirty or forty years ago, if a nice old lady told a gay guy "You should meet a nice girl and settle down", he probably would have just smiled and nodded to avoid a confrontation. In the last decade or two, the gay guy would be much more likely to let the old lady know that he's gay, so he's not looking for a wife. And if the old lady thinks he's a nice guy before finding that out, then suddenly, gay people aren't so bad in her eyes. It's because so many Americans know someone who's gay that LGBT rights have made such advances in recent years. We should be copying that approach when it comes to atheism.

I get this sentiment. But the individual level is not where good PR is going to happen. Especially when you are essentially refuting their version of "thanks" and saying "nope, I don't want that."

Perception is reality. This is axiomatic, IMO. So while your perception of saying "no thanks, I'm an atheist" is letting people know that there are nice atheists about, to the person you are saying that to, it could come off as an affront. In trying to reverse the roles, I would say it would be equivalent to me saying "good luck" to someone, just meaning "best wishes" and not really implying anything about luck, and that person saying: "thanks, but I don't need luck, I've got God." My immediate thought is "what a douche," when their thought is likely a positive one.

My thought is that you just say thanks to the casual exchange. Usually it is not really even that religious a message. It is a colloquial "Have a nice day." If someone is actively preaching to you, then absolutely. The other side of the coin is that even if you don't come off as nice, it will shake up the idea that it is a reasonable assumption that everyone you meet is religious.

[BrokenQuill92]

I usually don't mind people saying it unless they're using me as their "good deed for the day"

In that way I hate it more when people say they will pray for me, or add me to their prayers. Uuuhhm, I don't need that, thanks but no thanks.

When I was younger my dad told me this about Americans:

"Even total strangers act like they like you a lot, and apparently you are always blessed by god"

I always think of that when I hear those words.

I think words like that loose their meaning after they are used so often not that they have meaning to me at all. But if there are people that use them so much they will say it without even thinking about it at some point.
Just like the "Oh my god" I hear in a lot of American tv shows and movies.

Well the "O my god" is more of a swearish kinda thing, like someone saying "shit" or "damn". Even atheist in America still say "o my god!". But I can see what you're saying about meaningless words; like the myth of faeries hating the words "thank you".

[Bob Kelso]

I always retain a certain modicum of respect for those I don't know and I say "thanks" or "goodbye" or something equally innocuous.

If I know the person and they know I'm an atheist, I generally reply with "No thanks" if it was said offhand, but if it's intentionally supposed to piss me off I'll reply with a "Fener fend*" or "May the Force be with you".

*My uncle is a fundie who has read Malazan Book of the Fallen as well, so this reply is mostly for him since he understands it. Fener was one of the gods of war in the series and this was a common statement throughout the series to ward off evil or unwanted circumstances.

try tank you.

If it bothers you that much you mite want to see someone for help.

Try reading the post.

If you're unable to see where I do say thank you and in what contexts I resort to humor in then you might want to see your local community college for remedial English lessons, this will also help with your spelling issues.

[MJ the Skeptical]

It's annoying, just keep your religious opinions out of every day conversation.

And when I do hear it I will usually reply with something like, Zeus bless you too, to get the point across.

[The Valkyrie]

If it's a complete stranger I just say "thank you".

If it's someone I know who knows I'm an atheist I say, "You should know better".

If it's a religious person who knows I'm an atheist and is saying it to get a bite I say, "And fuck you, too."