What's the difference between 'for' and because'?

Yes, you can.

Hi,
I see a lot of learners use "for" instead of "because"... I wonder why they've been taught that way. It's ok, but I don't know how much it's used, apart from in the Bible.

- Hey dude, go get me a screwdriver, for I wanna try to fix rhis **** lawn mower...
- For what? Man, are you stoned?

Don't use "for" there, LOL

Is this my perception, or it's actually real ? 'For" is more of the British use and "because" is more of the AmE. My cousin in HK uses "for" for "Because" in her e-mails a lot. To me "for" has a tendency to confuse the context. I'd personally avoid using "for" for "becaUSE".

In modern, everyday, UK English it would be extremely unusual to use 'for' in this way. Personally, I'd use 'because' in all of the sample sentences. I can't really imagine anyone actually saying it. Perhaps if we lived in a Jane Austen novel...

Brightsun
He stayed at home, for it was raining hard. (If you use 'for' to mean 'because' you need to put a comma before 'for' as in the above sentence.)

Maybe the confusion is in the translation of "because" and "for" ("for" also meaning "wegen" - which you wouldn´t only find in the Bible).

Example:
Woman mugged for $ 5.

Some pupils translate: Woman mugged because of $5.

So, what is the difference here?

I'd say that the use of for has something to offer in how a statement sounds when spoken, or written. I use both, but for has a certain poetic and precise quality about it which comes across nicely.

"I stayed in because it was raining."
"I stayed in the for the fact that it was raining."

It might not fit your own personal style but it saying a bit more.

I've seen a lot of use of "for" instead os "because" while reading "Alice in Wonderland" and found it very curious.
so I found this forum!

In terms of the meaning, 'for' does the same job as 'because'.

But grammatically, 'for' is the conjunction of a compound sentence, with a comma in front of it, indicating that two sentences/clauses are as important as each other. Whilst 'because' is connecting a complex sentence, indicating that the clause followed is not independent but as a supplement to explain the main clause.