Empirical Studies of Christian Prayer: a Review of the Literature

Empirical Studies of Christian Prayer: A Review of the Literature

JOHN R. FINNEY and H. NEWTON MALONY, JR. The Graduate School o f Psychology Fuller Theological Seminary Pasadena, California

Christian prayer is a central religious practice which has received scant attention in psychological research. The two major types of prayer are verbal and contemplative prayer. A review of the empirical studies of prayer suggests that the work done in this area can be divided into four categories: (a) developmental studies of conceptions of prayer; (b) research on motivations for praying; (c) studies of the effects of verbal prayer; and (d) studies of the effects of contemplative prayer. The studies on the development of the concept of prayer generally have found patterns consistent with Piaget’s stages of moral and cognitive development. Regarding motives for prayer, Welford (1947) supported the hypothesis that prayer is not just a neurotic flight from anxiety. Elkins et al. (1979) found verbal prayer to be generally ineffective in anxiety reduction. Parker and St. Johns (1957) demonstrated that a program of spiritual development that includes verbal prayer can be effective as a therapeutic intervention. The findings of Sacks (1979) suggest that contemplative prayer may facilitate ego development. Opportunities for further research on prayer are discussed.

Nowhere is the longstanding breach be- ceived as similar to all social relationships in tween psychology and religion more evident that an imaginative social process takes than in the lack of research on prayer. Only a place mentally in which an idea of oneself few studies of prayer exist in spite of the fact and an idea of the other are related (Strong, that prayer is of central religious impor- 1909; Sunden, 1974). The nature of prayer tance. This article develops a conceptual differs from religion to religion depending model for prayer and reviews research re- upon the way the divine is conceived. In lated to this religious practice. Christianity God is seen to be essentially all-loving and all-powerful, the one who has Definitions of Prayer revealed himself in Jesus, the Christ. In the Prayer can be defined as “every kind of Christian tradition prayer is, thus, intimate inward communion or conversation with the communication with a benevolent deity. power recognized as divine” (James, 1902/ This article will focus on Christian prayer 1962, p. 464). As such, prayer can be con- although it will, at times, review studies which have wider implications. This article is based on a dissertation written by the Heiler’s (1932/1958) phenomenological first author, chaired by the second author and submit- ted to the Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theo- analysis of prayer in general, is probably the logical Seminary. most comprehensive. He concludes that Requests for reprints should be sent to John R. Fin- there are two types of prayer, mystical and ney, MDiv, 2261 N. Villa Heights, Pasadena, Cali- fomia 91107. prophetic. Mystical prayer in Heilers

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schema seeks union with God and is charac- Prayer: Functions and Processes terized by silent attentiveness to God rather A number of writers have considered the than by words. Prophetic prayer is a spon- function of prayer. Some have viewed it as taneous expression of emotion. Verbal peti- basically an expression of need (Heiler, tion to the divine is the usual form that 1932/1958; Pratt, 1930, pp. 318-320; Selbie, prophetic prayer takes. Heiler argues that 1924, p. 220; Johnson, 1945, p. 112, Hodge, mystical prayer is incompatible with the 1931). Others have concluded that prayer is tenets of Christianity, implying that it is a essentially an affirmation of faith (Ellens, form of do-it-yourself salvation. 1977; Phillips, 1965). Although Heiler’s (1932/1958) distinction Some theorizing has been devoted to the between verbal and mystical prayer has psychological processes active in prayer. stood the test of time, rejection of mystical The one that has received the most attention prayer as a Christian practice has been chal- is hypnotic suggestion (Coe, 1900, 1916; lenged (von Balthasar, 1981, 1982, pp. 333- Cutten, 1908; Hodge, 1931; Horton, 1931; 343; Bouyer, 1963, pp. 406-420; Simpson, James, 1902/1963; Pratt, 1930; Relton, 1925; 1965, pp. 112-113; Tillich, 1967, Vol. 2, pp. Selbie, 1924; Strunk, 1959; Thouless, 1923/ 83-84; Tinsley, 1969). 1956; Valentine, 1929). Theoretical dis- Verbal and mystical prayer appear to be eussions of mysticism and meditation are different phenomena, however. Some grounds for speculating that additional Christian theologians (Macquarrie, 1966, psychological processes involved in pp. 437-438; Tillich, 1967, Vol. I, pp. 112- contemplative prayer include regression 113, 126, 267; Vol. Ill, pp. 120, 192-193), (Freud, 1929/1961; Allison, 1966, 1968; argue that both are the work of the Holy Arieti, 1967; Committee on Psychiatry and Spirit on the basis of such texts as Romans Religion, 1976; Fingarette, 1958; Kris, 1936; 8:15-16. This view perceives both verbal and Maupin, 1962, 1965; Owens, 1972; Prince & mystical prayer as God within us relating us Savage, 1972), a deautomatization of per- to God above us. Thus, both can be seen as ception and cognition (Carrington, 1977; the same in essence. Deikman, 1966; Goleman, 1971; Omstein, More detailed classifications of the types 1971), a conditioning of a lower level of of prayer have been developed both by those arousal through induction of a relaxation speaking from within the Christian tradition state (Shapiro, 1980), and desensitization (Magee, 1957) and spokespersons for psy- (Goleman, 1971; Carrington & Ephron, chology (Clark, 1958, pp. 312-325). Heiler’s 1975; Otis, 1974). (1932/1958) basic distinction has been af- Beyond studies on the frequency of firmed and refined. Verbal prayer has been prayer (Strommen, 1971, pp. 553-554, 560), subdivided into such categories as petition, the empirical work that has been done can be intercession, thanksgiving, and adoration. divided into four groups: (a) Develop- Mystical prayer has come to be more com- mental studies of conceptions of prayer; monly known as “contemplative” prayer, (b) research on the motivations for praying; which can be defined as giving one’s full (c) studies of the effects of verbal prayer; attention to relating to God in a passive, and (d) studies of the effects of contem- nondefensive, nondemanding, open, non- plative prayer. verbal way. Thus, the essence of contemplative prayer is not a technique but a par- Empirical Studies on Prayer ticular type of interpersonal response to God. The purpose of contemplative prayer Developmental Studies of is to wait on God to deepen one’s confidence Conceptions o f Prayer in his power and love so that one can grow in Regarding the first category of the re- Christlikeness. search on prayer, six studies have been done

105 PRAYER REVIEW on the development of the concept of prayer Welford (1947) surveyed 63 male students (Brown 1966, 1968; Godin & Van Rooey, between 18 and 25 years of age who were all 1959; Goldman, 1964; Long, Elkind, & church-goers. The subjects were given Spilka, 1967; Thouless & Brown, 1964). All descriptions of six situations, three of which of these deal with the period of childhood were pleasant and three unpleasant. They through adolescence. These studies have were told to imagine themselves in the situa- been reviewed elsewhere in detail (Godin, tions and to rank order the anecdotes on 1971, pp. 134-135; Elkind, 1971, pp. 673- three bases. The first ranking was the order 675). Patterns consistent with Piaget’s in which the situations would stir their emo- stages of moral and cognitive development tions and was used as an indicator of affect. were generally observed (Godin & Van The measure of frustration was based on the Rooey, 1959; Goldman, 1964; Long, Elkind, extent to which the situations would be & Spilka, 1967). It was also frequently found beyond their power to handle them, except that with increasing age, there is a decline in by praying. The third ranking was the likeli- the belief that prayer will have material hood that they would pray in the situation consequences (Brown, 1966, 1968; Godin & and was the prayer measure. Van Rooey, 1959; Goldman, 1964; Thouless Correlating rank orders, he found signifi- & Brown, 1964). A third conclusion of the cant relationships (p < .01) between prayer research on the development of the concept and affect (r = .51 ), prayer and frustration (r of prayer in childhood and adolescence is = .59, and affect and frustration (r = .38). that a child’s concept of prayer develops When frustration was partialled out from the from vague associations with the term correlation of prayer and affect, the mean “God” to a private conversation with God correlation was still significant (r = .33, p < in which very intimate things are shared .01). When affect was partialled from the (Long, Elkind, & Spilka, 1967). Finally, it correlation of prayer and frustration, it, too, has been observed that as a child matures was significant (r = .47, p < .05). Thus, his chronologically there is a movement in the hypothesis was confirmed. content of petitionary prayer from ego- The subjects were also asked why they centric wish fulfillment for such things as were more likely to pray in some situations candy and toys to altruistic desires for such and not others. These reasons for prayer things as peace on earth (Long, Elkind, & seemed to divide into two groups. One Spilka, 1967, p. 103). group saw prayer as a means of changing the situation, while the other group tended to view it as a way of altering their subjective response to the situation. These qualitative reports also stressed that prayer was a Motivations for Praying means of adjustment to be used when no Few studies have explored the motives other course of action seemed viable. for prayer. Welford (1947) investigated the Welford’s (1947) research provides an question of whether petitionary prayer in empirical basis for understanding peti- adulthood was a positive means of adjust- tionary prayer as a response to need. ment to unusual or baffling situations or just Considering the independent correlation of a neurotic flight from frustration. He both affect and frustration with prayer Wei- hypothesized that if petitionary prayer was ford concluded, 4‘Any simple hypothesis correlated with both positive and negative which regards prayer as a response merely emotion in addition to frustration, this to distressing, threatening forces in the would support the hypothesis that peti- environment is inadequate” (p. 317). His tionary prayer is more than a reaction to findings suggest that petitionary prayer is frustration. motivated both by the need to reduce frus

106 J R. FINNEY AND H.N. MALONY

tration and by the need to adjust to unusual Galton noted that members of royal houses situations. Thus, petitionary prayer is not had the lowest average life expectancy. This necessarily just a neurotic flight from the was in spite of the tradition of praying for the unpleasant. It can also be a positive means sovereign. He went on to point out that the of adjustment which reflects certain meta- same group of statistics showed that emi- physical assumptions. nent clergy fell behind lawyers and physi- Johnson ( 1945) has proposed a number of cians in average life expectancy. He also psychological effects of prayer which also made reference to the chapter, “ Divines,” can be construed as motivations for prayer. in his work, Hereditary Genius in which a He suggests that they include awareness of pattern of poor health was observed among needs, emotional catharsis, peace of mind, leading clergy of the day. In Guy’s statis- broader perspective on problems, decisions, tics, clergy as a whole had one of the longest emotional renewal, social responsiveness, average lifespans of the privileged groups joy, gratitude, acceptance of one’s losses, examined, but Galton dismissed this as due loyalty and perseverance, and integration of to the easy country life of many local clergy. the personality (pp. 122-123). Johnson’s Galton (1872) also cited other support for speculations have not yet been empirically his conclusion that there is no objective effi- investigated. cacy to prayers of petition and intercession. He claimed that mortality rates for mission- aries were not any better than for the general The Effects o f Verbal Prayer population and implied that they might be The third group of studies contains re- worse. He said that although one would ex- search on the effects of verbal prayer. The pect parents to be praying for the health of first of these studies dates back to the begin- babies soon to be bom, the distribution of nings of psychology as a formal discipline. still-births is the same as that for all deaths. Francis Galton (1872) wrote an article in the He noted that nobility were particularly sub- Fortnightly Review entitled “ Statistical In- ject to insanity and that religious madness quiries Into the Efficacy of Prayer.” Gal- was quite common. ton’s study of petitionary and intercessory Although Galton rejected the hypothesis prayer grew out of the research he did on that there is objective efficacy to petitionary clergy for the chapter on divines in his book and intercessory prayer, he concluded his Hereditary Genius. The article’s publi- article by saying it is of subjective value as a cation sparked a controversy: Advocates of means of ventilating emotional pain and as a the objective efficacy of prayer were out- way of experiencing a comforting sense of raged and the clerical community was of- communion with God. fended. Galton’s article was reprinted in the To the modern scientist, it is obvious that first edition of his book Inquiries into Galton’s evidence, while intriguing, does Human Faculty, but he bowed to ecclesias- not justify the definitive tone of his con- tical pressure and consented to allow his elusion. In many cases, hard empirical data publishers to omit it from the second edition. were lacking, and where statistics were pro- Galton (1872) concluded that there is no vided, they were obviously open to other statistical evidence for the objective value of interpretations. The most glaring of these is petitionary and intercessory prayer. He the dismissal of the exceptionally long life- based this conclusion on an examination of span of allclergy combined. The assumptions measures of well-being of various groups about who prays and is prayed for and in that one would expect to pray more or for what manner are also grounds for challenge. whom many people would be likely to pray. Nevertheless, Galton’s study is noteworthy After examining Guy’s table of the average because of his pioneering courage in doing lifespan of various English affluent groups, empirical study of a central religious prac-

107 PRAYER REVIEW tice in spite of the church’s strong resistance any guilt, hate, feeling of inferiority, or fear to such scrutiny. was encouraged. The next major study of the effects of The second part of the therapy empha- verbal prayer was published more than sized the limitless power and love of God. eighty years later. In 1957 William Parker’s Participants were urged to identify the experiment was reported in Prayer Can inadequacies in their conceptions of God Change Your Life, a book written in a non- and abandon them in favor of the notion of technical style and co-authored with Elaine an ever-present God of love. St. Johns. These first two portions of the therapy Parker’s subjects were forty-five volun- were apparently the warp and woof of a teers ranging in age from 22 to 60. They were weekly two hour group therapy session. all suffering from either psychosomatic There seems also to have been an emphasis symptoms or experiencing considerable on obedience to the Law of Love in these subjective emotional distress. The subjects therapy sessions, but the report is quite un- were assigned to one of three groups, each clear on this point. containing 15 persons. Group 1 received A third aspect of the Prayer Therapy was weekly individual psychotherapy sessions. personal prayer according to very specific The people in this group expressed either a guidelines. Based on the psychological pre- preference for psychotherapy or had been testing, each week a sealed envelope was advised by their physicians to seek this given each member of the Prayer Therapy treatment. Group 2 was labeled the “ Ran- group. The envelope contained a slip of dom Pray-ers.” The subjects in this group paper on which was written one detrimental were practicing Christians who agreed to personality aspect revealed by the psycho- pray daily that their specific problems would logical tests. Each person’s homework was be overcome. They prayed in their accus- the elimination or improvement of this tomed manner. Group 3 was the Prayer specific shortcoming through daily prayer. Therapy group which followed a specified Four guidelines were given for this prayer. program for religious growth. First of all, it was to be regular. Secondly, it The length of the experiment was nine was to be an act of surrender. The individual months. Pre-testing and post-testing was was to pray with the attitude of giving up his done using the following battery of psycho- or her own desires and demands, seeking logical tests: Rorschach, Szondi, Thematic only to do G od’s will. Thirdly, the prayers Apperception Test, sentence completion, were to be positive, affirmative statements and word association. An impartial rather than desperate begging or negative psychometrist compared the scores of each statements. While praying, the subjects person and arbitrarily assigned a percentage were to visualize themselves as they desired of improvement to each of them. Group 1, to be. Finally, the prayer was to be recep- the psychotherapy group, showed an aver- tive. Participants in the prayer therapy were age improvement of 65%. Group 2, the Ran- asked to pray believing that they had already dom Pray-ers, showed no improvement. received what they requested of God. Group 3, the Prayer Therapy group, had an The experimental design used in this average improvement of 72% study makes causal inferences inappro- The popular style in which Parker’s study priate. There was no random assignment to was reported makes it difficult to know pre- treatment groups. Since the prayer therapy cisely what was done with the Prayer was a multifaceted program, no conclusions Therapy group. In broad outline, the about verbal prayer itself can be drawn. The therapy seems to have consisted of three positive outcome of the Prayer Therapy parts. The first stressed honestly examining group does, however, encourage further one’s mental life. The acknowledgement of investigation of a program of religious

108 J.R. FINNEY AND H.N. MALONY development which includes positive peti- each subject was asked to pray in their tionary prayer as a therapeutic technique. accustomed way and to concentrate on The third study of verbal prayer was a adoration and praise. The EEGs of these six brief single-subject design by Sajwaj and subjects, which were recorded during the Hedges (1973). It was a study of the effects prayer sessions, showed a shift to shorter of mealtime prayer on a six year old boy who duration half-waves. Thus, the EEGs were was moderately retarded. The child was faster, disconfirming the hypothesis. The oppositional and an extreme behavior prob- EEGs were examined for patterns of lem in the home. For fifteen days, disrup- drowsiness or sleep and none were found. tions and appropriate table behaviors were The subject whose EEG showed the largest recorded for ten-second intervals during shift was also the person who exhibited the dinner. The table grace had an adverse ef- most devout behavior. She often got up at 5 feet on the child’s behavior. For the eight a.m. in order to have an hour for prayer. days when dinner began with prayer, the During the laboratory prayer session she median was 63% of the mealtime being dis- reported a flow of tears which was not un- rupted. This median fell to 15% on the no- common for her when she prayed. grace days. Appropriate dinner behavior In the fifth study of verbal prayer effects, showed a similar pattern. A comparison of Carson and Huss (1979) examined the use of means was much less contrasting, however. prayer and Bible reading by the nursing staff On the average, dinners started with grace in the treatment of chronic undifferentiated were only somewhat more disrupted than schizophrenics who had not responded to no-grace mealtimes. psychotherapy. Unfortunately, the study The researchers theorized that the meal- has serious design deficiencies which make time prayer acted as a discriminative the results only suggestive. The treatment stimulus, signaling to the child that dis- group was comprised of volunteers whereas ruptive behavior would evoke parental at- the control group was not. The lack of ran- tention. Qualitative observation supported dom assignment to treatment conditions this thesis. Sajwaj and Hedges (1973) con- makes it impossible to infer causality. Also, eluded that further research on the stimulus the tool for assessing change was a non- functions of prayer is in order. standardized instrument on which no relia- Surwillo and Hobson (1978) reported a bility or validity information were reported. fourth study on the effects of verbal prayer. Neither were any statistical tests of signifi- They analyzed brain electrical activity dur- cance used. ing prayer which was primarily adoration The experimental group was comprised of and praise. The researchers hypothesized ten Christian schizophrenics who met indi- that there would be a slowing of electro- vidually with nursing students for ten cortical rhythms as measured by electro- weeks. Each meeting was opened and encephalograms (EEGs). closed with a written prayer. A passage of The subjects in the study were six adults, Scripture was also read each time. The an equal number of each sex, whose ages prayers and Scriptures focused on the love ranged from 24 to 70 years. They were all oT God and the worth of each individual to members of the Church of God and regu- God. Thus, this study can be conceived as larly attended worship. On a scale of one to an investigation of prayer of adoration and four, all subjects gave the maximum rating praise. After the Scripture reading the stu- to the degree to which prayer was a dents talked with their clients about any- meaningful part of their lives. The regular thing they wished to discuss. The treatment length of daily prayer for the various sub- of the control group was simply a thera- jects ranged from 10 to 60 minutes. peutic relationship. Change was assessed During a twenty-minute prayer session with an inventory adapted from “ Elements

109 PRAYER REVIEW for a Psychological Assessment,” an article iety in the prayer group as measured by by Snyder and Wilson (cf. Carson & Huss, scores on the STAI. The prayer group 1979). participants subjectively experienced a In contrast to the control group, the greater amount of tension reduction than experimental group grew in their ability to was indicated physiologically. There were no express anger and aggression. They also be- relationships between tension reduction in came more hopeful about changing their the prayer group and type of prayer style, lives, exhibited more appropriate affect, intercessory or reflective. However, those and decreased in somatic complaints. prayer group members who rated prayer The last study on the effects of verbal most important showed greater tension prayer compared the relative anxiety- reduction on the EMG than did those who reducing effects of prayer and muscle relax- rated prayer less important. The researchers ation. It was carried out by Elkins, Anchor concluded that prayer was not shown to be and Sandler (1979). In comparison to a con- effective in tension reduction although a trol group, the muscle relaxation caused trend in this direction was observed. significant reductions in objective and sub- To summarize, there have been six jective measures of anxiety whereas prayer studies of the effects of verbal prayer re- did not. ported in the literature. Two of these are The 42 subjects were composed of almost particularly noteworthy. Parker and St. equal numbers of males and females, and Johns (1957) pioneered in utilizing tech- were members of a Baptist church. Most of niques of spiritual development, including them held at least a baccalaureate degree. positive petitionary prayer, as therapeutic The anxiety measures were electro- interventions. Elkins et al. (1979) investi- myogram (EMG) recordings of the frontalis gated the anxiety-reducing effects of verbal muscle and Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxi- prayer of both an intercessory and a reflec- ety Inventory (STAI). tive style and found that such verbal prayer Subjects were randomly assigned to one is inferior to muscle relaxation and probably of three groups, a prayer group, a relaxation ineffective as a means to relieve anxiety. group, or a control group. The prayer group was subdivided into two subgroups. There was an intercessory group in which the The Effects of Contemplative Prayer participants favored prayer that sought The last category of empirical research on objective divine intervention. The other prayer consists of those studies investi- subgroup preferred a reflective style of gating the effects of contemplative prayer. prayer in which the focus was on the Techniques of meditation common to the communication of private feelings to God. world’s major religions are often used as Both groups prayed about events in their vehicles of contemplative prayer. Research personal lives which were of concern to on meditation (Shapiro, 1980) and mysticism them. (Hood, 1977; Hood, et al., 1979; Strunk, The subjects were tested before and after 1965) provide further elucidation of the con- a ten day training period. Analysis of co- cept of contemplative prayer but a detailed variance showed the muscle relaxation discussion of these is beyond the scope of group to have significantly reduced muscle this article. tension compared to the controls. Analysis Only two studies of the effects of contem- of the STAI state anxiety scores revealed a plative prayer have been carried out. The similar pattern. The prayer group did not first, by Marilyn Mallory (1977) was a show significantly greater muscle relaxation multi-faceted study of members of the as compared to the control group. However, Discalced Carmelite Order whose central there was a trend toward less subjective anx enterprise is contemplative prayer. The

110 J.R. FINNEY AND H.N. MALONY

teaching of St. John of the Cross is a primary chological/sociological variables, a canoni- theological resource for this group. Mai- cal correlation significant at the .01 level lory’s central hypothesis was that asceti- showed the sumscores of the mystical cism would not correlate with mystical prayer factors, 1 and 8 together, correlated development whereas psychological and re- with the psychological variables of extra- ligious factors would do so. version (r = .23) and happy emotionality (r Participants in the study were 53 nuns and = .41) as well as a number of other vari- friars from Holland and Dutch-speaking ables. This finding suggested that mysti- Belgium. There were 44 females and 9 cism is associated with positive mental males. Their ages ranged from 24 to 77. health. The subjects were given an 187 item ques- Mallory (1977) also performed a canonical tionnaire on spirituality which contained six correlation with the sumscores of factors 3, sections: prayer experiences, distractions in 6, and 10, which were active visual prayer, prayer, ascetical views, attitudes toward active rational prayer, and troubled/dis- John of the Cross, ideas of God, and per- tracted prayer. These together correlated (p ־sonal assessment of one’s level of advance- < .05) with the following psychological vari ment in contemplation. Responses were on ables: neuroticism (r = .43), psychosomatic a six point scale except in the ideas of God neuroticism (r = .32), introversion (r = .43) section in which an eight point scale was and unhappy emotions (r = .45). These used. A large number of the items in the correlations suggest that prayers involv- questionnaire were drawn directly from the ing rational processes are associated with writings of John of the Cross. mental distress. Participants in the study were also given a A third major finding of Mallory’s study number of psychological tests: the Amster- was that factors 1 and 8, the mystical fac- damse Biographische Vrangenlijst by G. J. tors, together correlated with the mild views Wile, which is a Dutch adaptation of H. J. of asceticism but not the strict views. Eysenck’s Maudsley Personality Inven- Mild asceticism means trusting God and a tory; an adapted version of Barron’s Ego- passive receptivity to God’s love. For Strength Scale; The Scale of Inter-Personal prayer, it implies a rejection of rational ac- Values which has subscales for degree of tivity as a vehicle to divine communion. conformity, degree of independence, al- Severe asceticism implies such things as truism, leadership qualities, need for group self-inflicted physical pain. The canonical support, and need for recognition; the correlation of the sumscores of the mystical Vrangenlijst over Positief Innerlijk Welbe- prayer factors 1 and 8 and the mild asceti- vinden by H. J. Hermans which measures cism items of the questionnaire was, how- happy and unhappy emotionality; and the ever, marginally significant (p < .20) and so hysteria scale of the MMPI. The EEGs of a cannot be considered very meaningful. portion of the participants were also re- From the original 53 subjects, 14 were corded during prayer. enlisted for EEG recordings during prayer. The first section of the questionnaire, A significant reduction in alpha abundance which was on prayer experiences, contained during prayer was found (p < .04). How- 68 items. It was factor analyzed with an ever, since this finding was based on a visual oblique rotation. Fifteen factors were identi- assessment of the EEGs and also because fied and named by two neutral judges. the laboratory facilities were grossly inade- Factors 1 and 8, which were labeled emo- quate, the results can only be considered tionally pleasurable mystical experience and suggestive. emotional contemplation, were used as indi- It is most unfortunate that the statistical cators of mysticism. procedures used by Mallory make her re- Correlating prayer experiences and psy suits untrustworthy. The factor analysis of

111 PRAYER REVIEW the first section of her spirituality question- The mean age was 22. All subjects had at naire is the prime deficiency. She factor least a high school education. Eighteen had analyzed 68 items with only 53 subjects. an undergraduate college degree, and one Nunnally (1967, p. 421) has recommended had completed a master’s degree. Four of at least ten times as many subjects as van- the subjects dropped out and were omitted ables in order to guard against taking advan- from the analysis. tage of chance, while Gorsuch (1983, p. 148) Loevinger’s test of ego development, requires 5 to 10 times as many subjects as which has a sentence completion format, variables and at least several hundred sub- was used in modified form. The altered jects. Mallory did not even have a 1:1 ratio inventory had a test-retest reliability of r = of subjects to variables, and the total .92. The questionnaire was administered number was far less than even 100. two months prior to the beginning of the Further criticisms of M allory’s (1977) retreat, two weeks before it, and one month statistical procedures are these: She failed to after the end of the retreat. During the time consider the prodigious instability of canon- of the retreat, novices were isolated from the icals; she seems to have treated factors as outside world. scales without giving any consideration to The mean scores for the three testings the general tendency for the internal consis- were 5.50, 5.48, and 5.78 in chronological tency of factor scales to reduce as one order. The difference between the latter two moves from the initial to later factors; no means bordered on statistical significance (/ Eigenvalues are given to know how far the = 1.63, (45),/? < .058). Sacks noted that it is major factor analysis of the study was car- impossible to identify which aspect of the ried; no justification was given for doing an retreat was responsible for the results. In oblique rotation. particular, the God-self interaction and the Mallory’s (1977) work must also be criti- new social structure might both be major cized because her conclusions do not follow contributors to the increase in integration of from her data in some cases. For instance, the self-system. she argued support of a particular chron- ology of prayer development from the inter- Conclusions correlation of factors (pp. 40-41). Corre- This article has reviewed the empirical lations are indications of association r nd studies of prayer since 1872, about the time imply nothing about sequence of events. She of the birth of psychology. They have been also stressed the correlation of mystical meager, to say the least, both in number and prayer with mild asceticism even though the substantial findings. Nevertheless, several canonical correlation was nonsignificant at aspects of the work done to date on prayer the .05 level. are noteworthy. First, the studies of the Howard Sacks (1979) also studied the ef- development of the concept of prayer pro- fects of contemplative prayer. He examined vide the most conclusive findings since their the effect of Ignatius Loyola’s spiritual results were convergent. From childhood exercises on the integration of the self- through adolescence patterns consistent system. He hypothesized that the thirty day with Piaget’s stages of moral and cognitive retreat required of those joining the Jesuit development were observed (Godin & Van order would result in increased cognitive Rooey, 1959; Goldman, 1964; Long, Elkind integration. An increase in integration was & Spilka, 1967). Second, Welford (1947) observed, but it only bordered on being gave empirical grounds for considering ver- statistically significant. bal petitionary prayer as more than just a Sacks (1979) studied 50 male subjects who neurotic flight from anxiety. His work also made their retreats in six Jesuit centers demonstrated one creative approach to throughout the United States and Canada. studying motives for prayer with his rank

112 J.R. FINNEY AND H.N. MALONY ordering of situations as to the extent to porary researcher. To some degree prayer is ־which they would evoke emotion, frus- a sacrosanct subject. Some religious per tration, and prayer. Third, a beginning has sons are reluctant to subject it to empirical been made to empirically assess the poten- investigation. Nevertheless, the subject is of tial of verbal and contemplative prayer to such import that prayer research should enhance psychological health. Significant proceed. research on this issue has been done by El- kins et al. (1979), Parkerand St. Johns (1957) and Sacks (1979). Elkins and associates found that verbal intercessory and reflective REFERENCES prayer are probably not effective in reducing Allison, J. (1966). Recent empirical studies of religious anxiety. Parker’s research raised the possi- conversion experiences.Pastoral Psychology, 17, bility that verbal positive petitionary prayer 21-33. could form an effective core for group Allison, J. (1968). Adaptive regression and intense reli- therapy. From Sacks it can be inferred that gious experiences. Journal of Nervous and Mental perhaps contemplative prayer may facilitate Disorders, 145, 452-463. integration of the self-system. Arieti, S. (1967). The intrapsychic self. New York: Basic Books. There is opportunity for much further Balthasar, H. U. von. (1981). Christian and non- empirical investigation of prayer. Of course, Christian meditation. Word and Spirit, 2, 147-166. replication and extension of the work done Balthasar, H. U. von. (1982).The Balthasar reader (M. so far is needed. This would include investi- Kehl & W. Loser, Eds.). New York: Crossroad. gation of the motives for prayer, the differ- Bouyer, L. (1963).The spirituality o f the New Testa- ential effects of the various kinds of prayer, ment and the fathers (M.P. Ryan, Trans.). London: and the psychological processes active in Bums and Oates. (Original work published 1960) prayer. A second research area is the effects Brown, L. B. (1966). Egocentric thought in petitionary of prayer on religiosity and spiritual prayer: A cross-cultural study.Journal o f Social Psy- chology, 68, 197-210. development. There seems to be no pub- Brown, L. B. (1968). Some attitudes underlying peti- lished work in this area. Finally, the tionary prayer. In A. Godin (Ed.),From cry to word relationship of Christian prayer to prayer of (pp. 65-84). Brussells: Lumen Vitae Press. the other major world religions is waiting to Carrington, P. (1977).Freedom in meditation. New be done. All of the studies identified to date York: Anchor/Doubleday. have been of prayer in the Judeo-Christian Carrington, P., & Ephron, H. (1975). Meditation as an tradition. Prayer of the other world religions adjunct to psychotherapy. In S. Arieti, (Ed.),New dimensions in psychiatry: A world view (pp. 261-292). has been virtually ignored unless one is wil- New York: Wiley ling to think of the meditation studies as Carson, V., & Huss, K. (1979). Prayer, an effective investigations of prayer. This seems in- therapeutic and teaching tool.Journal o f Psychiatric appropriate, however, because no consider- Nursing, 17, 34-37. ation has been given to the techniques of Clark, W. H. (1958). The psychology o f religion. New meditation as being viewed by the partici- York: Macmillan. pants as means of relating to the divine. Coe, G. A. (1900). The spiritual life. New York: Eaton & Mains. Prayer is a core religious practice and should Coe, G. A. (1916). The psychology o f religion. not be neglected any more as a subject of Chicago: University of Chicago Press. research by those interested in the psy- Committee on Psychiatry and Religion. (1976). Mysti- chology of religion and the integration of cism: Spiritual quest or psychic disorder?Group for the psychology and Christian theology. Advancement o f Psychiatry, 9, 718-822. It should be remembered that Galton Cutten, G. B. (1908). The psychological phenomena o f (1872) evoked a great deal of resistance from Christianity. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. the religious community in studying prayer. Deikman, A.J. (1966). Deautomatization and the mystic This may still be the fate of the contem experience. Psychiatry, 29, 324-338.

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Strunk, Jr., O. (1959).Readings in the psychology o f Valentine, C. H. (1929). Modern psychology and the religion. New York: Abingdon Press. validity o f Christian experience. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Strunk, Jr., O. (1965).Mature religion: A psychological study. New York: Abingdon Press. Welford, A. T. (1947). Is religious behavior dependent upon affect or frustration?Journal o f Abnormal and Surwillo, W. W., & Hobson, D. P. (1978). Brain elec- Social Psychology, 42, 310-319. trical activity during prayer.Psychological Reports, 43, 135-143. Thouless, R. H. (1956).An introduction to the psy- AUTHORS chology of religion. Cambridge: The University Press. FINNEY, JOHN R. Address: 2261 N. Villa Heights, (Original work published 1923) Pasadena, California 91107.Title: Doctoral Candidate. Thouless, R. H., & Brown, L. B. (1964). Petitionary Degrees: BA, Wayne State University; MDiv. Du- prayer: Belief in its appropriateness and causal efficacy buque Theological Seminary.Specializations: Inte- among adolescent girls. In A. Godin (Ed.),From re- gration of psychology and theology, Christian mysti- ligious experience to a religious attitude (pp. 123-136). cism, existential psychotherapy. Brussels: Lumen Vitae Press. Tinsley, E. J. (1969). Mysticism. In A. Richardson MALONY, H. NEWTON. Address: Graduate (Ed.), Λ dictionary of Christian theology (pp. 225-226). School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary, Philadelphia: Westminster Press. 177 N. Madison Avenue, Pasadena, California 91101. Title: Professor of Psychology.Degrees: MDiv, Yale Tillich, P. (1967). Systematic theology (Three vol- Divinity School; PhD, George Peabody College. umes in one). New York: University of Chicago Specializations: Social issues, organizational psychol- Press/Harper & Row. ogy, psychology of religion.

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