The situation can be understood like this: the absence of the ritual of making the sign of the cross even during thunder indicates that for that person, religious ceremonies and symbols such as the sign of the cross do not hold significant importance in their life.

When Thunder Fails to Stir Faith

The situation can be understood like this: the absence of the ritual of making the sign of the cross even during thunder indicates that for that person, religious ceremonies and symbols such as the sign of the cross do not hold significant importance in their life. In popular consciousness, the idea has long been entrenched that only sudden and tangible manifestations of nature (for example, thunder) can prompt a person to turn to religious rituals. As one source states:

"Had it not been for that, proverbs like 'if thunder doesn’t sound, the man won’t make the sign of the cross' or 'as the trouble begins, so to God' would not have come into existence. People for whom neither God nor the Church play an important role in their lives, in case of trouble, run to the church, where they set up the thickest candles (as if to please God, the thicker the candle, the more pleasing it is!) and try to convince the priest that their family troubles and misfortunes were provoked by a dozen local acts of witchcraft." (source: link txt)

Thus, if a person does not make the sign of the cross even during thunder, it may indicate a lack of deep religious experience or internal adherence to faith. The person may perceive religious actions as a formality rather than an expression of a true spiritual bond, which is reflected in the fact that these ritual actions are performed only in critical situations when their well-being or fate is at stake.

Another excerpt from the same source describes a similar phenomenon, adding that for many laypeople, the religious ritual has more of a psychological character than a sincerely religious one:

"The situation is not the best even among laypeople who attend church services more or less regularly. For many of them, the ritual is a concept not of a religious nature but of a psychological one." (source: link txt)

Thus, one can conclude that the absence of making the sign of the cross even during thunder indicates that for such a person, religious practice is more of a ritual or formal act rather than an expression of deep faith. This demonstrates that true spirituality may not occupy a central place in their life, and the ceremonies are performed only under external circumstances or traditional pressure — which is why it is said that "if thunder doesn’t sound, the man won’t make the sign of the cross."