Editor’s Note: Is anything ailing, torturing, or nagging at you? Are you beset by existential worries? Every Tuesday, James Parker tackles readers’ questions. Tell him about your lifelong or in-the-moment problems at dearjames@theatlantic.com.

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Dear James,

Am I a bad person for being weary of people talking about God as if everyone else in the conversation believes in their particular deity? I’m thinking of declarations such as “God moves in mysterious ways,” and “God has a plan for all of us,” and the countless other religious platitudes that people trot out.

As an atheist, I certainly don’t assume that everyone I’m speaking with shares my nonbelief. When someone asks why something particular happened to the

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