Baraka_Guru

Yes, I think most Christian doctrines would see this as akin to idolatry. But what Christians think of atheists might be worse, so what's an atheist to do when at a Christian dinner table? Pretend to be what they aren't so as not to offend? It depends on the atheist.

As a humanist, I'm inclined to "pray" along in respect of others' beliefs and practices. I look at praying as a metaphoric philosophical exercise. Looking at the "blessing" of food and abundance isn't much of a stretch for atheists to participate in. To sit out of this practice implies you are ungrateful for these things—that you are ungrateful to your host(s). What is the value in that?

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot