I was a Christian many years ago, and I almost drowned in an incident on a river in a foreign country. Even then, at the most terrifying moment, god never crossed my mind. I was pretty sure I was going to die, and even then it didn't occur to me to pray.

my late best friend was an atheist. he ran a business and one day he had sent his secretary out on an errand when two men burst into his office, overpowered him, tied him up and proceeded to rob the place. at one point he heard them discussing whether to kill him. the robbery took a long time; his perception was that it was hours. he was afraid that his secretary would come back and be killed. he was worried about what would happen to his dogs if he died. he told me later he was quite pleased to report that at no time did god or prayer or anything like that cross his mind. he was, of course, an atheist, but people do strange things under extreme stress. he was, however, an atheist in his foxhole, even though it was not wartime. i was proud of him too. he came from a catholic background. i was raised in a secular jewish household and we were not into prayer (religious jews would have been). in a catholic household, i imagine he had a lot of prayer in his family whether or not he participated; he went to a private catholic school, too. so he had good reason to be pleased with himself!

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Gunner Len Rowley Royal Artillery (1940-45) was one. And I am one of his grandsons, all of whom (4) are atheists.