Almost nine out of 10 Americans have relied on healing prayer at some point in their lives, according to a new study.
The study, carried out by Baylor University epidemiologist Jeff Levin, was based on an analysis of a nationally representative survey of 1,714 US adults carried out in 2010. It found that 78.8 per cent of participants have prayed for healing for themselves at some point in their lives, that 32.4 per cent did so often and that 87.4 per cent of people have prayed for healing for others.
Other findings – which were published in the Journal of Religion and Health earlier this month – showed that 54.1 per cent have asked for prayer for a health issue, 53 per cent have participated in some form of group prayer, and that 26.1 per cent have participated in the “laying on of hands” for healing.
Dr Levin, professor of epidemiology and population health and director of the program on religion and population health at Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, said that outside of a belief in God, “there may be no more ubiquitous religious expression in the US than use of healing prayer”.
He said the findings also showed that most people who use prayer for healing also receive regular medical care, choosing to use healing prayer as complementary rather than as an alternative to medical care.
Those most likely to pray for healing are people who “feel a close connection to God, who love God and feel loved by God”, he said.
