Does calling for divine intervention via prayer lead to reduced human suffering? Can this be studied scientifically?
Numerous studies, including randomized controlled trials, have tested the effectiveness of prayer and religious interventions on physical and mental healing. This study is the first of its kind to apply a randomized crossover trial to in-person (vs. remote or intercessory) prayers. In this cross-over design, participants were randomly assigned to prayer and control groups. After the 6-week intervention, participants in the control group were invited to receive the prayer intervention for 6 weeks. This design enables a comparison of treatment and control group outcomes in addition to outcomes for control group members who later receive the treatment.
The researchers hypothesized that prayers performed in person by a Christian minister “will lessen depression and anxiety, enhance positive emotions such as hope and spirituality, and lower salivary cortisol” (p. 379).
Participants were excluded if they had undergone psychotherapy up to one year prior, and participants did not receive psychotherapy during the study. Participants on anti-depressants could not change dosage level during the study. Sixty-three participants (60 women, 3 men) were randomly assigned to prayer and control groups. Those in the prayer group engaged in one-hour prayer sessions with a Christian lay minister for 6 weeks. Control group members received no intervention. There were no significant differences for race, sex, age, or prevalence of depression and anxiety between treatment and control groups. Pre- and post-intervention measures were administered including depression and anxiety scales, cortisol measurement (stress hormone), optimism and spirituality scales. Measures were also administered at the one-month follow-up.
Results: the prayer group had significantly lower depression and anxiety scores at the end of 6 weeks compared to baseline and compared to the control group, but no statistically significant changes occurred in cortisol levels. The control-group members who later received prayer intervention also experienced significantly lower depression/anxiety scores after the intervention. These results persisted at one-month follow-up with significantly lower depression and anxiety among the prayer group.
There is an interesting connection between the ways in which participants’ emotional memories were changed via prayer in this study and the act of disconnecting negative emotions from traumatic memories in EMDR therapy for PTSD. “In cases of emotional difficulty relating to traumatic memories, prayers asking that God come into the memories and heal were provided” (p. 382). This resulted in the ability to recall the memory but without the associated negative emotion.
Takeaway: the study design and findings present tantalizing evidence for the effectiveness of prayer in reducing depression and anxiety. Participants in the prayer group, as well as control-group participants who later completed the prayer protocol, experienced improvements in mental health and a decrease in negative emotionality associated with traumatic memories. Although the study was not blinded (the people in the prayer group knew they were receiving prayers), the comparative lack of changes in the control group during the same period, followed by control-group improvement after receiving prayers, is particularly noteworthy. A perplexing question not answered in the study is why cortisol levels did not change.
Citation: Boelens, P. A., Reeves, R. R., Replogle, W. H., & Koenig, H. G. (2009). A randomized trial of the effect of prayer on depression and anxiety. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 39(4), 377-392. https://doi.org/10.2190/PM.39.4.c
©Jennie Dilworth, Ph.D