I quietly allow them to do their thing. If they ask me to say grace, I put my hands in a meditative pose and chant, "Buddha, Buddha, bless the foodah."

My family are believers and when we get together for holidays or just dinner together, they always pray. Everyone holds hands while one of my sons says the prayer. I always sit with them, hold hands but do not bow my head. Instead I look around at all of them and think how much I love them, warts and all. Unless someone is trying to force their views on me I just don’t engage with them.

I stare off into space and wait for them to finish their ritual.

I never understand why other people praying should bother anyone who doesn’t.

Sounds like grandstanding.

Be grateful for the food at all parts of the process to get it to your plate. Sun, rain, farmers, process plant packers, cutlers, potters, electricity company and on it goes.

A one stop shop sounds quite reasonable to prevent your dinner getting cold!

I don't bow my head and I don't say amen. I have never been questioned about it. It has been quite awhile since l have been in that situation.

Welcome to the asylum. Enjoy your stay.

When I'm present and that stuff happens, I sit there quietly, and do not
participate.
On the long-ago occasions when I was asked to say "grace", I declined.

Smile and wave

I have this happen weekly. I am a part of a group that feeds the homeless and, inevitably, someone insists on saying a prayer. I do not participate. I do not bow my head. I simple wait quietly until they are done. When I am forced to be "thankful", I phrase it as a group appreciation for the bounties of the earth and field, a benefit of toil and sweat by those willing to raise our food.

I just sit quietly til they're done then I start eating. There's usually a little eye rolling that they never see because their heads are bowed and eyes closed in respect to speaking to gawd.

Whatever.They made the food, I can put up with one silly prayer.

In someone else's home I just sit looking around waiting to eat. In my own home it never happens.
I have one co-worker I work with sometimes and if we have lunch in a restaurant he'll bow his head and say a silent prayer. I ignore him and start eating

It doesn't matter if you pray. It's not like you pray and suddenly "they've got ya again".

Look at it this way - Let's say prayer does nothing outside of your body and mind. But depending on your beliefs and focus it may have several effects on you. Just like meditation the simple exercise of closing ones' eyes and focusing on specific things removes the "clutter" from your thoughts. Or it can. So it's not necessary to shun it nor is that even recommended.

I've often wondered if christian prayer is their knock-off version of meditation. In yoga we use meditation to promote mental discipline. While we see the numbers of the religious taking a downturn, we see the numbers of people exercising various forms of mental discipline (yoga) shooting skyward. These days it's all the rage to engage in right-mindedness and rightful thought. Such meditation has crept into even the education systems of many countries as we learn more about the positive effects of mental discipline. So it has value if done properly - maybe the christians were trying to do it and ended up doing it wrong.

Seems to work rather well for the vedic believers independent of any religious context. The stories of ascetics being able to control their bodily processes through meditation are vast and proven accurate. So focusing the way you think has effects on you and those effects can be positive and controlled. It's what Buddhists and Hindus and Jains and some other Chinese have been doing for thousands of years. Instead of just shunning prayer out of ignorance maybe we should learn more about it and how it can work for us.

"First, they prayed to God. Then, they preyed on the Indians"--Mark Twain, on the Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock

In other peoples houses I just say "No thanks" when asked to pray, and immediately after they have finished mumbling to their invisible friend I thank and compliment my hosts and the meal provided and for my invitation.
If they insist on knowing why I tell them I find it a matter of very bad manners that I should thank and credit "gawd" for a meal, my host cooked, prepared, served and paid for.

If it is a family member's or friend's home, I remain silent but will not bow my head. In my home that nonsense doesn't fly.

I eat all of the appetizers while they pray.

I mostly look around at the faces people are making while praying. They often look like they are constipated.

I wrote a poetic prayer to the non-existent flying spaghetti monster sky God, you can use it the next time praying with them Christian's at supper.

Spaghetti monster, Spaghetti monster in the sky.
Why o why must them hungry childen die.

Pasta in the sky with meatballs for an eye.
How we wish they had a pizza pie.

Bread sticks with marinara for which to dip.
Who can not be sarcastic but gave a flip.

Condescending dressing over word salad so make.
What the hope from the child to take.

Spaghetti monster spaghetti monster in the sky.
Where is your atheist near Christian sitting by.

Spaghetti monster spaghetti monster in the sky
When will your atheist see, if they would get off their ass, quit complaining about God people for not doing anything and do something themselves, no child would have to die.

Depends who is praying. If it’s going to be short, I stand still. If it’s my brother....I go outside for a break.

i stay quiet while they pray and then move on. no reason to make a scene, and i may not respect their religious beliefs, but i do respect them.

Luckily I don't have to deal with that.

I just sit there with my eyes open... looking around... and wondering, "Jesus, when is this prayer going to end."

well, that never happens to me so i'd have to imagine. when my immediate family was alive, we didn't pray. we were secular jews. our prayers, had we said them, would not have included any christs.

i also only have one friend, really my guy's friend, who would be likely to do such a thing. we went to a christmas party once thrown by a friend of hers and attended by my guy and me, both jewish and me an atheist to boot, and apart from us all rabid evangelicals, and by rabid i mean that our friend won't apply for a job unless jesus says she should, and her friends all believe that a physical humanoid devil sat down with the beach boys and made a contract which they all signed. THAT kind of rabid.

i slightly knew and liked one woman, younger than i, a kind person with a sense of humor who also seemed to like me, and had thought we might be friends -- you know, go out and eat or to a movie, talk about guys, do stuff friends do. i have moved around a lot in my life and have tons of friends but sometimes it's hard to find someone who isn't halfway around the world, just to do friend-stuff with. i found myself alone at the table with her while the others, including my guy, were in another room. she said something about jesus and i gently reminded her that i was jewish (this was not the crowd to whom to announce i was also an atheist). she was puzzled; what did that have to do with the price of beans, after all? "But you still believe in jesus christ," she said. "no," i corrected her.that no, jews do not believe in a divine jesus (i didn't add "if he ever existed at all). she frowned deeply at this. i said "good thing we're in america! we have freedom of religion here, so you can believe in jesus and act accordingly, and i can be who i am and act accordinly, and we can still be friends, and nobody is right or wrong!" her frown deepened even more. she thought for half a minute. then she said, "no, i don't believe that." and she never spoke to me again.

every year we're invited to that house for a christmas party. every year i say no.

i guess that solved THAT problem, anyway.

g

You say you want to take care of it, if you're a guest they will oblige, then you give secular thanks for the food and guests, leave out the religious bs.

My family is Catholic, so prayers are recited and not improvised. Grace before meals was always said. My brother-in-law and myself are the atheists, but we sit quietly while everyone else crosses themselves and say the prayer. I do not cross myself and I do not say the prayer and when it is done I carry on as if nothing had happened. My brother-in-law sometimes liked to conclude by saying, "Mekka-lekka-hi, mekka hi-ne-ho". We would both chuckle and then that would be that.