I say gesundheit which is a German word basically wishing good health without any religious connotation. It was quite common in the town I grew up in which had a pretty large population of german descendants, people here in Ohio look at me a little weird sometimes. Besides, it is a fun word to say. 

It sure is a hard habit to break. I grew up Christian too, I've been an atheist for some time now. People who know I'm an atheist understand. Sometimes I'll just say it anyway. The whole reasoning behind "bless you" is just ridiculous. Thought this would be a perfect forum to ask the question.

It depends upon whether or not they cover their face when they sneeze that determines my response. 

But seriously, I know what you mean. After a lifetime of yelling "goddamnit" when I am irritated or saying " thank god" when something difficult falls into place, I still find myself doing that all of the time.

I don't put much stock in the semantics of it, it's just a habit.

The other day I was having an issue with the bike, when it finally cranked smoothly, I said out loud " It's about time." Which must mean some part of my mentality has changed.

http://stooge.hubpages.com/hub/Origin-and-legends-related-to-the-expression-Bless-You-when-someone-sneezes

 Thank you for that link, it was pretty interesting. It wouldn't surprise me if it originated as pagan and as usual, the Christians adapted it. 

It's not as if you have to say something. I used to live in Japan and I never saw anyone say something to a sneeze there.

 I agree you don't have to say anything, sometimes I don't. It's just a phrase that is sometimes second nature. 

i still use whatever phrases come to mind, including bless you, god bless you, goddammit, thank god, please god, etc.  i had enough of policing my every thought and word as a christian, i'm certainly not going to do it now.

Finally something to match what we all are thinking.

Yeah, from the Middle Ages all the way up to even the 19th Century a lot of diseases were attributed to "bad vapors and odors" as the medical profession put them. They had a documentary on the History Channel the other night about two men that devised blueprint methods for getting the sewage away from London and the Thames River because they believed the flies and the actual exposure to such toxins near the city was contributing to the plague. The ruling powers that be almost didn't allow it to happen, too much money and besides : "As long as people kept their homes from having bad odors, no one had anything to worry about."

I can't believe that the History Channel actually put out something worth watching for a change. I used to like that channel, but now 99% of the documentaries are about ancient aliens, Nazis using time travel devices to disappear, and the U.S. government keeping little green men in a fridge.

I absolutely agree. I used to watch History and Discovery all the time. Painfully low-quality "documentaries" is all they seem to do now. That, or reality shows.

Science Channels seems decent still, although they have a tendency to have dumbed down material. (Sometimes this is because the thing they are talking about is really complex, but still.)