Intercessory Prayer for the Alleviation of Ill Health
📄 Original study ↗📌 Appears in:
Plain English Summary
Can strangers praying for you actually help you heal? A team of researchers conducted the most rigorous review possible — a Cochrane review, which is basically the Supreme Court of medical evidence — pulling together 10 randomized trials with over 7,600 patients. The verdict? Prayer made essentially zero difference to whether people died, got better, or ended up back in the hospital. Out of 33 specific health outcomes examined, only 3 slightly favored the prayer groups, but that's roughly what you'd expect from random chance when you run that many comparisons. Here's the truly eyebrow-raising twist: patients who knew they were being prayed for actually did worse, experiencing 15% more complications. The researchers' final recommendation was blunt — don't bother running more trials on this.
Research Notes
The authoritative Cochrane systematic review on intercessory prayer — the gold standard of evidence synthesis in this domain. Central to Controversy #5 (distant healing/prayer) as it meta-analyzes Byrd 1988, Harris 1999, and Benson 2006 STEP. Its null overall findings and caution about multiple testing provide the strongest skeptical counterweight to individual positive trials.
Systematic review of 10 randomised controlled trials (N=7,646) evaluating whether intercessory prayer added to routine care improves health outcomes. Searched 10 databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, and ATLA Religion Database through June 2007. Found no clear effect of prayer on death (5 RCTs, RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.74-1.36), clinical state (5 RCTs, RR 0.98, CI 0.86-1.11), CCU readmission (4 RCTs, RR 1.00, CI 0.77-1.30), or rehospitalisation (2 RCTs, RR 0.93, CI 0.71-1.22). Of 33 specific complications, 3 marginally favoured prayer but likely reflect multiple testing. Awareness of being prayed for was associated with more complications (RR 1.15, CI 1.04-1.28). Authors conclude evidence is equivocal and recommend no further trials.
Links
Related Papers
Meta Analyzes
- Positive Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer in a Coronary Care Unit Population — Byrd, Randolph C (1988)
- A Randomized, Controlled Trial of the Effects of Remote, Intercessory Prayer on Outcomes in Patients Admitted to the Coronary Care Unit — Harris, William S (1999)
- Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in Cardiac Bypass Patients: A Multicenter Randomized Trial of Uncertainty and Certainty of Receiving Intercessory Prayer — Benson, Herbert (2006)
- Effects of remote, retroactive intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients with bloodstream infection: randomised controlled trial — Leibovici, Leonard (2001)
Companion
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📋 Cite this paper
Roberts, Leanne, Ahmed, Irshad, Davison, Andrew (2009). Intercessory Prayer for the Alleviation of Ill Health. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD000368.pub3
@article{roberts_2009_intercessory_prayer_cochrane,
title = {Intercessory Prayer for the Alleviation of Ill Health},
author = {Roberts, Leanne and Ahmed, Irshad and Davison, Andrew},
year = {2009},
journal = {Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews},
doi = {10.1002/14651858.CD000368.pub3},
}