I enjoy the awkwardness of not saying anything and knowing they feel offended when I don’t say bless you :>

I say "mystical enchantments upon you". But I'm a bit of a rabble rouser.

What should we say when someone coughs?

What should we say when someone burps?

Why should we perpetuate the superstition that a sneeze throws off evil spirits and continue to give lip-service to its being worthy of some deity's blessing?

Yeah, "Gesundheit!" - "Health, now!" - works for me when some reaction seems expected.

It's hard for me not to say since it's such a common term. Other terms like 'oh, god', 'jesus christ' and 'god damn it' are also hard to avoid since they're so automatic in our lingo. There's really no meaning to them, so they don't bother me too much.

Seems to work fine to me. Wishing someone a blessed life has nothing to do with faith. It's simply a term of good will.

I see nothing wrong with saying "Bless You". I say it all the time. I just won't say "God bless you". That would be wrong in my book.

How about "Good Health", Salud", or "Gesundheit"? You can still feel that you are being polite without evoking any supernatural bullshit.

"Bless you" seems an innocuous phrase - I use it often. As you say, you're not saying who blesses you - maybe in your head someone is thinking "Satan blesses you" - but I don't know, I stay away from those people !

Religion has been a part of our culture for so long that a lot of religious vocabulary has crept into your vernacular. although most of it in common usage has lost any actual religious meaning. To say "bless you" when someone sneezes, is just beign polite. There is no secular terms to substitute under the same circumstances... although I'd be open for suggestions or beign corrected if there is secular terms appropriate under those circumstances.

Common courtesy or being polite is preferably, at least tome, to trying to strop one's own vocabulary from any possible religious context.

when some one says it to me i respond don't waste your breath, surprising how many non/not serious religious people get offended by it.

I don't say anything when people sneeze, in the same way I don't say anything when someone coughs, hiccups, or passes gas. I just give them a dirty look.

"You are soooo good looking"

A friend of mine and I have thought of other phrases to use which are gleamed from history - the reactions from others are priceless!

"Jupiter heal you" is our all time favorite after someone sneezes! I get to explain the historical background of that Roman expression.

I think the tradition began in Europe, believing the spirit of the body was ejected by the sneeze (or something along those lines).

Since I don't believe that devils, or Satan are causing the sneezing, I say Gesundheit - wishing them health - which makes much more sense to me.
Or nothing at all ...

I'm a "Gesundheit"-er; have been ever since my exchange year in Germany 32 years ago. If they want to be a little humorous about it, some Germans will say "Schoenheit," (you've got to know how to pronounce it correctly--hint: It's not [shane...]) which just wishes someone attractiveness. It's silly, I know. If someone sneezes several times in rapid succession, I might say "...you okay?" I see nothing particularly wrong with using "Jesus effing Christ" as an explitive. It's a cultural expression that really does not imply reverence. I don't think "Bless you" is too horrible (no worse that wishing someone luck, and just as pointless.) I just avoid it for myself.

I learnt somewhere that during the years of the plague in england the first sign of sickness was a cold so if you sneezed you were given your last rites as you were gonna die. Bless you .

I say Gesundheit and have for years. But...I'm an atheist and I like songs like "Spirit in the Sky", "May the Circle Be Unbroken", and "Nearer My God to Thee". What gives? You do you, like what you like, enjoy life, and who really cares?

No biggie. Just a nice word.

That's OK because it's a tradition based on a Pre-Christian belief (Egyptian) that someone's soul (the breath) is escaping through their nose! (Mind you why believe that there's a soul either?)