Intercessory prayer:
Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of praying to a deity on behalf of others. In Western Christianity, intercession forms a distinct form of prayer, alongside Adoration, Confession and Thanksgiving. [Wikipedia]
Noted in this press release from the Center For Inquiry, which is a Freethought, or atheist, organization:
“And it is the right thing to do, is to pray in moments like this because you know what? Prayer works,” [House Speaker Paul] Ryan asserted. “And when you hear the secular left doing this thing, no wonder you’ve got so much polarization and disunity in this country when people think like that.”
“There is no evidence that intercessory prayer has any effect on earthly events, as numerous controlled studies have shown, and it won’t save anyone from future atrocities,” said Robyn Blumner, President and CEO of the Center for Inquiry. “So instead of dismissing legitimate criticism, the Speaker should work toward evidence-based solutions to the pressing national issue of gun violence.”
This press release has sparked some discussion. Eric Owens in the right-wing Daily Caller, under the headline, “Sad, Lonely Atheists Insist Prayer Is Dumb As They Stare Hopelessly Into Desolate Cosmic Abyss,” remarked:
One of the world’s largest atheist organizations has declared that praying to God or any other supernatural deity is a useless, stupid endeavor that will not lead to “evidence-based solutions.”
And that’s it. I think he’s just lazily preaching to the choir, as there’s no real argument present. Not that there’s likely to be a convincing argument, truth to be told – you believe or you don’t. The fun begins with the material that is present behind each belief system, that is, the system of belief you have towards the structure of the Universe. Ed Brayton on Patheos has a similar, if somewhat nastier, response to Owen as well.
Studies of intercessory prayer are difficult to study at double-blind standards. For one thing, there are religious groups that continuously offer up prayers for the beset world-wide, and persuading them to desist is a fool’s errand. I did a little research and found a few studies. “Intercessory prayer for the alleviation of ill health” concludes:
It is not sensible to interpret any of the interesting results with great confidence. However, for women hoping for successful IVF treatment there are some data suggesting a favourable outcome of prayer but these data are derived from only one of the smaller trials. On the other hand, one of the larger studies suggests that those undergoing operations may not wish to know of the prayer that is being offered on their behalf. Most data are equivocal. The evidence presented so far is interesting enough to justify further study into the human aspects of the effects of prayer. However it is impossible to prove or disprove in trials any supposed benefit that derives from God’s response to prayer.
I am not qualified to interpret their results, so I’m not sure the they’re interesting enough to actually continue investigation. But it seems clear this study has no solid results for the success of prayer. I do recall reading, 20+ years ago, about a study in Skeptical Inquirer in which positive results were reported. However, this was from the perspective of several years later: one author had disowned the study, one had been jailed for fraud, and the final author refused to discuss the issue. The study was considered an example of how not to study intercessory prayer.
