- Joined
- Aug 11, 2011
- Messages
- 72,222
- Reaction score
- 43,997
- Gender
- Female
- Political Leaning
- Conservative
Social psychologist Clay Routledge says that rather than being a substitute for data-based solutions, prayer is a personal resource that complements other thoughtful action.
Professor Routledge cites the Pew "Religious Landscape Study," which indicates that over half of Americans pray daily, that prayer is not exclusive to those with a particular religious affiliation, and that prayer is bipartisan, with roughly the same percent of Democrats praying as Republicans.
Frequency of prayer - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics | Pew Research Center
There is evidence that prayer is not a distraction but instead helps to focus attention, which I’ve said in another thread has been my own experience: https://www.debatepolitics.com/beli...s-and-calling-god-card-15.html#post1068335305
From the cited study’s article abstract:
Thus, at least for people most likely to engage in religious behavior, praying about a problem appeared to liberate cognitive resources that are presumably otherwise consumed by worry and rumination, leaving individuals better able to process other information, and additionally to bias attention to favor detection of problem-relevant information. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2153599X.2016.1206612?journalCode=rrbb20&
Here is the link to another abstract on faith increasing self-control:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19210054
Dr. Routledge provides links to other studies about prayer reducing unhealthy behaviors and strengthening social bonds. He concludes with [bolding mine]:
There is little evidence that most believers use faith as a substitute for other evidence-based solutions to problems. Of course, a small minority of religious extremists do reject modern medicine and other science-based approaches. But most believers do not perceive their personal faith and science to be in conflict. Pew finds, for instance, that religion is strongly related to views on only a few specific science-relevant topics, particularly evolution and the creation of the universe. And religious people’s thoughts on evolution are more diverse than many realize. The more religiously observant Americans are, Pew finds, the less likely they are to view science and religion as antagonistic. In academia and progressive media, the most vocal attacks on science are certainly not coming from the devoutly religious. Both secular and religious ideologies can influence people’s willingness to dispassionately consider evidence. This is a human problem, not one specific to religious believers.
Tackling the many pressing social and personal problems Americans face requires action guided by focused deliberation and empirical evidence, and most of our nation’s problems are complex. People might disagree on what the evidence shows about any given issue and how best to respond, but few reject the idea that evidence is important. For most believers, prayer isn’t a substitute for data-based solutions. It is a personal resource that complements and may even help facilitate other thoughtful action. https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/04/what-prayer-is-good-for-and-the-evidence-for-it/
*Who is Clay Routledge?
Clay Routledge’s bio at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal:
Dr. Clay Routledge is a social psychologist and professor of psychology at North Dakota State University. His research focuses on the many ways that people gain and maintain perceptions of meaning in life and how these perceptions contribute to psychological and physical health. He has published over 90 scholarly papers, co-edited a book on the psychology of meaning, and authored the book Nostalgia: A Psychological Resource. He was also a contributing author for the books The Walking Dead Psychology: Psych of the Living Dead, Star Wars Psychology: Dark Side of the Mind, and Star Trek Psychology: The Mental Frontier. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Dr. Routledge’s work has been featured by many media outlets such as the New York Times, CBS News, ABC News, BBC News, CNN, MSNBC, Men’s Health, the Atlantic, and the New Yorker. Dr. Routledge writes a popular online column for Psychology Today called More Than Mortal, has served as a guest blogger for Scientific American, and frequently serves as a guest expert for national and international radio programs. https://www.jamesgmartin.center/author/clayroutledge/
Professor Routledge cites the Pew "Religious Landscape Study," which indicates that over half of Americans pray daily, that prayer is not exclusive to those with a particular religious affiliation, and that prayer is bipartisan, with roughly the same percent of Democrats praying as Republicans.
Frequency of prayer - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics | Pew Research Center
There is evidence that prayer is not a distraction but instead helps to focus attention, which I’ve said in another thread has been my own experience: https://www.debatepolitics.com/beli...s-and-calling-god-card-15.html#post1068335305
From the cited study’s article abstract:
Thus, at least for people most likely to engage in religious behavior, praying about a problem appeared to liberate cognitive resources that are presumably otherwise consumed by worry and rumination, leaving individuals better able to process other information, and additionally to bias attention to favor detection of problem-relevant information. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2153599X.2016.1206612?journalCode=rrbb20&
Here is the link to another abstract on faith increasing self-control:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19210054
Dr. Routledge provides links to other studies about prayer reducing unhealthy behaviors and strengthening social bonds. He concludes with [bolding mine]:
There is little evidence that most believers use faith as a substitute for other evidence-based solutions to problems. Of course, a small minority of religious extremists do reject modern medicine and other science-based approaches. But most believers do not perceive their personal faith and science to be in conflict. Pew finds, for instance, that religion is strongly related to views on only a few specific science-relevant topics, particularly evolution and the creation of the universe. And religious people’s thoughts on evolution are more diverse than many realize. The more religiously observant Americans are, Pew finds, the less likely they are to view science and religion as antagonistic. In academia and progressive media, the most vocal attacks on science are certainly not coming from the devoutly religious. Both secular and religious ideologies can influence people’s willingness to dispassionately consider evidence. This is a human problem, not one specific to religious believers.
Tackling the many pressing social and personal problems Americans face requires action guided by focused deliberation and empirical evidence, and most of our nation’s problems are complex. People might disagree on what the evidence shows about any given issue and how best to respond, but few reject the idea that evidence is important. For most believers, prayer isn’t a substitute for data-based solutions. It is a personal resource that complements and may even help facilitate other thoughtful action. https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/04/what-prayer-is-good-for-and-the-evidence-for-it/
*Who is Clay Routledge?
Clay Routledge’s bio at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal:
Dr. Clay Routledge is a social psychologist and professor of psychology at North Dakota State University. His research focuses on the many ways that people gain and maintain perceptions of meaning in life and how these perceptions contribute to psychological and physical health. He has published over 90 scholarly papers, co-edited a book on the psychology of meaning, and authored the book Nostalgia: A Psychological Resource. He was also a contributing author for the books The Walking Dead Psychology: Psych of the Living Dead, Star Wars Psychology: Dark Side of the Mind, and Star Trek Psychology: The Mental Frontier. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Dr. Routledge’s work has been featured by many media outlets such as the New York Times, CBS News, ABC News, BBC News, CNN, MSNBC, Men’s Health, the Atlantic, and the New Yorker. Dr. Routledge writes a popular online column for Psychology Today called More Than Mortal, has served as a guest blogger for Scientific American, and frequently serves as a guest expert for national and international radio programs. https://www.jamesgmartin.center/author/clayroutledge/
