Most people with a religious or spiritual worldview would say that prayer is effective, but they may be reluctant to say its effects can be scientifically proven. The effects of prayer are sometimes difficult to observe, and its success is often measured by subjective criteria. Some in the scientific community, however, continue to seek answers about the power of prayer through empirical study. Most commonly, researchers attempt to understand how prayer and faith affect health through psychological, social and behavioral mechanisms. These observations are squarely within the realm of science. Studies designed to observe the direct effects of intercessory prayer are less common, however, and attempt to prove that prayer works supernaturally, outside the realm of science. The recent Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer, or STEP, was one such study. It focused on intercessory, or third-party, prayer and found that intercessory prayer in the form studied - a highly standardized, testable form - yielded no positive results in the outcome of cardiac surgery patients. Theologians predicted these results long before the findings of the seven-year study were released, and once published the results renewed previous questions about the scientific study of prayer. Can science teach us anything about prayer? Is scientific study of prayer a waste of resources? Even negative test results tells us something about the nature of prayer, and other kinds of prayer studies observed an important link between human spirituality and healing. For more information, check Science & Theology News' coverage of STEP and other prayer studies.
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