What a loaded question!

The word “god” assumes so much. What does “god” mean here? What meaning can we agree on for the word “god?”

I prefer to phrase this question differently: are there powers and forces greater than us, of which we know little to nothing about and never will completely understand?

My answer to that question is an unequivocal yes. I don’t know very many people who wouldn’t agree with me here, though there may be a few. If “God” simply represents all of the vast array of things and forces that we don’t know, I think we’re pretty much all believers 🙂

In order to reconcile what can often be thorny difference in belief between different people, we must remember that everybody chooses their interpretation of what the word “God” means. Whenever I’m around and somebody uses the word “God” in prayer or in what is meant to be a sacred context, this is how I choose to interpret it. And thus, I don’t feel imposed upon, even though I am an atheist.