Mi'sen

how many atheists are like me and still pray fairly often, despite not having faith? I recite the Hail Mary to myself frequently, along with vaguely deist praise or supplication messages, intentions for people I know who are struggling, etc.

I'm more or less atheist, although in theory non-theist is probably closer. I pray almost every day. I don't do any Christian prayers, but there are a few Buddhist prayers which I practice a lot. The fun point for me, is what do we mean by prayer?

In the sort of Buddhism I've trained in, there are a number of types of prayer, and each type of prayer can be understood in a variety of meanings; usually talked about in terms of outer, inner, secret meanings.

In practice this can mean someone praying for a buddha in a fairly dualistic way, or it could be a natural re-alignment with some sort of principle/experience of relaxed awakeness.....or something along those lines. Some prayers are about setting intentions, they're very common.