The Effects of Prayer and Prayer Experiences

Although some 90% of all Americans claim to pray, a roview of social science literature will reveal that rosoarchers have shown little interest i the topic. The 1985 Akron Area Survey which focused on religiosity and subjective perceptions of well-being included items measuring the frequency of prayer, prayer experiences, and different forms of prayer, together with more standard measures of religiosity. The results demonstrate significant relationships between the varying measures of prayer and the different well-being measures included in this survey. A factor analysis of 15 prayer activity items identified four types of prayer which relate differently to the woll-boing measures. Prayer, like its parent concept rellgiosity, is cloarly multidimensional and contributes to a profiling of well-being.