Top

Published in:

01-02-2020 | Original Paper

Perceptions of the Efficacy of Prayer and Conventional Medicine for Health Concerns

Authors: Albert L. Ly, Anondah R. Saide, Rebekah A. Richert

Published in: Journal of Religion and Health | Issue 1/2020

Abstract

Previous research has associated prayer practices with positive health outcomes, but few studies have examined: (a) the perceptions of prayer in relation to perceptions of the efficacy of conventional medicine, and (b) whether the perceptions of prayer efficacy differ based on illness type, context of prayer, and whether prayer is for the self or someone else. The current study surveyed 498 emerging adults at a public university. Conventional medicine was perceived as more effective for alleviating health concerns overall, but participants perceived prayer as most effective when performed in a group setting for someone else. Individuals perceived prayer as more effective than conventional medicine when they reported greater religious activity, lower health locus of control, and higher spiritual locus of control.

Ai, A. L., Peterson, C., Rodgers, W., & Tice, T. N. (2005). Effects of faith and secular factors on locus of control in middle-aged and older cardiac patients. Aging & Mental Health,9(5), 470–481. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607860500142804.CrossRef

Ang, D. C., Ibrahim, S. A., Burant, C. J., Siminoff, L. A., & Kwoh, C. K. (2002). Ethnic differences in the perception of prayer and consideration of joint arthroplasty. Medical Care,40(6), 471–476. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005650-200206000-00004.CrossRefPubMed

Arcury, T. A., Quandt, S. A., McDonald, J., & Bell, R. A. (2000). Faith and health self-management of rural older adults. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology,15(1), 55–74. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006741625617.CrossRefPubMed

Barna. (2016). Most Americans believe in supernatural healing. Retrieved from https://www.barna.com/research/americans-believe-supernatural-healing/.

Barrett, J. L. (2001). How ordinary cognition informs petitionary prayer. Journal of Cognition and Culture,1(3), 259–269. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853701753254404.CrossRef

Barry, C. M. N., & Abo-Zana, M. M. (2014). Emerging adults’ religiousness & spirituality: Meaning-making in an age of transition. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.CrossRef

Bell, R. A., Suerken, C., Quandt, S. A., Grzywacz, J. G., Lang, W., & Arcury, T. A. (2005). Prayer for health among US adults: The 2002 national health interview survey. Complementary Health Practice Review,10(3), 175–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/1533210105285445.CrossRef

Bosma, H., Schrijvers, C., & Mackenbach, J. P. (1999). Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality and importance of perceived control: Cohort study. British Medical Journal,319(7223), 1469–1470. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.319.7223.1469.CrossRefPubMed

Brooks, A. C. (2006). Who really cares: The surprising truth about compassionate conservatism. New York: Basic Books.

Buttrick, G. A. (1942). Prayer. New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury.

Debnam, K., Holt, C. L., Clark, E. M., Roth, D. L., Foushee, H. R., Crowther, M., et al. (2012). Spiritual health locus of control and health behaviors in African Americans. American Journal of Health Behavior,36(3), 360. https://doi.org/10.5993/ajhb.36.3.7.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Ellison, C. G. (1992). Are religious people nice people? Evidence from the national survey of black Americans. Social Forces,71(2), 411–430. https://doi.org/10.2307/2580017.CrossRef

Francis, L. J., & Kaldor, P. (2002). The relationship between psychological well-being and Christian faith and practice in an Australian population sample. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,41(1), 179–184. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5906.00109.CrossRef

Franklin, M. D., Schlundt, D. G., & Wallston, K. A. (2008). Development and validation of a religious health fatalism measure for the African-American faith community. Journal of Health Psychology,13(3), 323–335. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105307088137.CrossRefPubMed

Harris, F. (1999). Something within: Religion in African-American political activism. New York: Oxford University Press.

Heiler, F. (1958). Prayer: A study in the history and psychology of religion. New York: Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1932).

Hill, T. D., Ellison, C. G., Burdette, A. M., & Musick, M. A. (2007). Religious involvement and healthy lifestyles: Evidence from the survey of Texas adults. Annals of Behavioral Medicine,34(2), 217–222. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02872676.CrossRefPubMed

Holt, C. L., Clark, E. M., Kreuter, M. W., & Rubio, D. M. (2003). Spiritual health locus of control and breast cancer beliefs among urban African American women. Health Psychology,22(3), 294. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.22.3.294.CrossRefPubMed

Holt, C. L., Roth, D. L., Clark, E. M., & Debnam, K. (2014). Positive self-perceptions as a mediator of religious involvement and health behaviors in a national sample of African Americans. Journal of Behavioral Medicine,37(1), 102–112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-012-9472-7.CrossRefPubMed

Kinney, A. Y., Emery, G., Dudley, W. N., & Croyle, R. T. (2002). Screening behaviors among African American women at high risk for breast cancer: Do beliefs about god matter? Oncology Nursing Forum,29(5), 835–844. https://doi.org/10.1188/02.ONF.835-843.CrossRefPubMed

Lam, P. (2002). As the flocks gather: How religion affects voluntary association participation. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,41(3), 405–422. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5906.00127.CrossRef

Loveland, M. T., Sikkink, D., Myers, D. J., & Radcliff, B. (2005). Private prayer and civic involvement. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,44(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00261.x.CrossRef

Maltby, J., Lewis, C. A., & Day, L. (1999). Religious orientation and psychological well-being: The role of the frequency of personal prayer. British Journal of Health Psychology,4(4), 363–378. https://doi.org/10.1348/135910799168704.CrossRef

Mansfield, C. J., Mitchell, J., & King, D. E. (2002). The doctor as God’s mechanic? Beliefs in the Southeastern United States. Social Science and Medicine,54(3), 399–409. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00038-7.CrossRefPubMed

Maselko, J., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2006). Gender differences in religious practices, spiritual experiences and health: Results from the US general social survey. Social Science and Medicine,62(11), 2848–2860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.11.008.CrossRefPubMed

McCaffree, K. (2017). The secular landscape: The decline of religion in America. Cham: Springer.CrossRef

McCaffrey, A. M., Eisenberg, D. M., Legedza, A. T., Davis, R. B., & Phillips, R. S. (2004). Prayer for health concerns: Results of a national survey on prevalence and patterns of use. Archives of Internal Medicine,164(8), 858–862. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.164.8.858.CrossRefPubMed

McCullough, M. E., Friedman, H. S., Enders, C. K., & Martin, L. R. (2009). Does devoutness delay death? Psychological investment in religion and its association with longevity in the Terman sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,97(5), 866. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016366.CrossRefPubMed

McCullough, M. E., Hoyt, W. T., Larson, D. B., Koenig, H. G., & Thoresen, C. (2000). Religious involvement and mortality: A meta-analytic review. Health Psychology,19(3), 211. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.19.3.211.CrossRefPubMed

Meisenhelder, J. B., & Chandler, E. N. (2002). Spirituality and health outcomes in the elderly. Journal of Religion and Health,41(3), 243–252. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020236903663.CrossRef

NORC. (2014). General social survey. Illinois: NORC.

Park, J. Z., & Smith, C. (2000). ‘To whom much has been given…’: Religious capital and community voluntarism among churchgoing protestants. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,39(3), 272–286. https://doi.org/10.1111/0021-8294.00023.CrossRef

Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. (2014). U.S. religious landscape study. Retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/.

Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. (2015). U.S. public becoming less religious. Retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/u-s-public-becoming-less-religious/.

Poloma, M. M., & Gallup, G. H. (1991). Varieties of prayer: A survey report. Philadelphia: Trinity Press International.

Poloma, M. M., & Pendleton, B. F. (1989). Exploring types of prayer and quality of life: A research note. Review of Religious Research. https://doi.org/10.2307/3511023.CrossRef

Putnam, R. D., & Campbell, D. E. (2010). American grace: How religion divides and unites us. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Richert, R. A., & Saide, A. R. (2018). Religious engagement. Invited chapter to appear in P. Leman (Ed.), The encyclopedia of child and adolescent development. London: Wiley.

Rippentrop, A. E., Altmaier, E. M., Chen, J. J., Found, E. M., & Keffala, V. J. (2005). The relationship between religion/spirituality and physical health, mental health, and pain in a chronic pain population. Pain,116(3), 311–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2005.05.008.CrossRef

Ross, L. E., Hall, I. J., Fairley, T. L., Taylor, Y. J., & Howard, D. L. (2008). Prayer and self-reported health among cancer survivors in the United States, National Health Interview Survey, 2002. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine,14(8), 931–938. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2007.0788.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied,80(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0092976.CrossRef

Schnall, E., Kalkstein, S., Fitchett, G., Salmoirago-Blotcher, E., Ockene, J., Tindle, H. A., et al. (2012). Psychological and social characteristics associated with religiosity in women’s health initiative participants. Journal of Religion and Health,51(1), 20–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-011-9549-6.CrossRefPubMed

Sharp, S. (2013). When prayers go unanswered. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,52(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12013.CrossRef

Somlai, A. M., Kelly, J. A., Kalichman, S. C., Mulry, G., Sikkema, K. J., McAuliffe, T., et al. (1996). An empirical investigatio of the relationship between spirituality, coping, and emotional distress in people living with HIV infection and AIDS. The Journal of Pastoral Care,50(2), 181–193. https://doi.org/10.1177/002234099605000206.CrossRefPubMed

Stürmer, T., Hasselbach, P., & Amelang, M. (2006). Personality, lifestyle, and risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer: Follow-up of population based cohort. British Medical Journal,332(7554), 1359. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38833.479560.80.CrossRefPubMed

Wachholtz, A. B., & Pargament, K. I. (2008). Migraines and meditation: Does spirituality matter? Journal of Behavioral Medicine,31(4), 351–366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-008-9159-2.CrossRefPubMed

Wallston, K. A., Malcarne, V. L., Flores, L., Hansdottir, I., Smith, C. A., Stein, M. J., et al. (1999). Does God determine your health? The God locus of health control scale. Cognitive Therapy and Research,23(2), 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1018723010685.CrossRef

Wallston, K. A., Strudler Wallston, B., & DeVellis, R. (1976). Development of the multidimensional health locus of control (MHLC) scales. Health Education Monographs,6(1), 160–170. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019817800600107.CrossRef

Wuthnow, R. (2004). Saving America?: Faith-based services and the future of civil society. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Title: Perceptions of the Efficacy of Prayer and Conventional Medicine for Health Concerns
Authors: Albert L. Ly
Anondah R. Saide
Rebekah A. Richert
Publication date: 01-02-2020
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Religion and Health / Issue 1/2020
Print ISSN: 0022-4197
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6571
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0704-1

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Perceptions of the Efficacy of Prayer and Conventional Medicine for Health Concerns

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2020

Destroying God’s Temple? Physical Inactivity, Poor Diet, Obesity, and Other “Sin” Behaviors

Relationship Among Religious Orientation, Individual Attributes, and Presence of People in Urban Public Space

The Effectiveness of Spiritual Therapy on Spiritual Well-Being, Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy in Patients on Hemodialysis

Relationship Between Praying and Self-Care in Elderly with Heart Failure: A Cross-Sectional Study in West of Iran

“Care for the Common Home”: Responses to Pope Francis’s Encyclical Letter

Integration of Spiritual Care in Hospital Care System in Iran