MessyONE:

Because it's polite. That's the reason for any social lie. I repeat: Because its polite. Someone who is going through and emotionally trying time doesn't care a fig for what you think, and rightfully so. All you are required to do is make them feel better.

Uh-oh... Aunt Messy is being naughty again and poking at the hornet's nest with a stick. I suspect you're going to invite the ire of a great many very sincere people who will look you in the (virtual) eye and tell you they never, ever lie. They are completely full of shit, of course. Everybody lies - which is probably a good thing since if nobody did, everybody would commit murder and mayhem instead.

What I have a hard time understanding is how this clown can possibly make such a big deal out of this. In the grand scheme of things it is hardly worth giving a second thought, much less sending an angst-ridden missive to an advice columnist. I mean think about it... We live in a "culture" in which a 16-year old girl can become a billionaire nearly overnight by fastening her face and her Disney-created nom de plume on virtually everything that little girls might buy - including their underwear - at the same time that millions of people are losing their homes and going bankrupt. If you really have some twisted need to torment yourself over life's incomprehensible inequities, it seems to me there are far more serious (and even terrifying) things to get worked up about than whether saying a prayer (or even just saying you will) for someone who will be comforted by it when you are an avowed athiest is morally reprehensible.

Hannah Montana is morally reprehensible. Athiests saying prayers, however insincere, doesn't even come close...