![]() Our reasons for centering on prayer and anxiety are twofold. As we outline below, each dimension of prayer may be connected to anxiety in unique ways, in both positive and negative directions. Specifically, we look at four subtypes of prayer, including prayer efficacy (the belief that prayer can solve personal and world problems), devotional prayer (praise of God and prayer for the well-being of others), prayers for support (e.g., better health, financial aid), and prayer expectancies (whether God answers prayers). In this study, we center in on the latter two dimensions of prayer through the use nationally representative data from Wave 6 of the Baylor Religion Survey (2021), which provides an unprecedented opportunity to move beyond simple prayer frequencies. ![]() In a recent review article, Froese and Jones ( 2021) suggest that prayer may include at least four dimensions: (1) prayer quantity, including issues such as prayer frequency and consistency, (2) prayer style, or the behavioral rules and norms that underlie prayer, (3) prayer purpose, or what one wishes to accomplish via their prayers, and (4) prayer targets, the supernatural entities that are prayed to. If the effects of prayer are conditional on the type of prayer or perceptions of the divine object of prayer, the limited measurements of previous work may obscure our understanding of the complex relationship between prayer and mental health. Quantitative studies of prayer and well-being tend to measure prayer in terms of simple frequencies that fail to represent the variegated experience of this phenomenon. Indeed, some prior cross-sectional studies point to the beneficial associations of prayer with mental health (Ai et al., 1998 Ellison & Taylor, 1996 Levin, 1996), while others find that prayer may be linked to worse mental health outcomes (Bartkowski et al., 2017 Hank & Schaan, 2008). ![]() Results from existing work on prayer and mental health have been somewhat inconsistent. ![]() Alongside research on the types and forms of prayer, theories about how prayer may affect well-being also began to emerge in the literature as well (Baesler et al., 2011 Breslin & Lewis, 2008). Early investigators, for instance, identified different types of prayer, such as ritual, conversational, petitionary, and meditative prayer (Poloma & Gallup, 1991). As this literature began to develop, it became quickly evident that prayer is a vast, multidimensional phenomenon (see Froese & Uecker, 2022). Over the course of the last several decades, researchers have made considerable strides in the study of prayer. Although there is considerable variability in prayer experiences, some practitioners have reported that they can literally hear God “talking back” (Luhrmann, 2012). In this sense, prayer is an experience through which believers interact with the divine. William James ( 1902) offered a broad definition of prayer, suggesting that prayer was “every kind of inward communion or conversation with the power recognized as divine” (p. ![]() 45), where an individual can externalize their concerns, intentionally relate to others, and attempt to see reality through the eyes of God or a divine being (Woodhead, 2016, p. At its core, prayer can be defined as “communication addressed to God” (Stark, 2017, p. Prayer, considered by some to be the essence of religion, has been a universal behavior throughout human history (Levin & Taylor, 1997 Woodhead, 2016). We note the importance of capturing multidimensional phenomenon that comprise religious prayer life within the extensive religion and health literature. Results suggest that prayer efficacy, prayers for support, and one form of devotional prayer (asking God for forgiveness) all correlate with higher anxiety, while another form of devotional prayer (praise of God) and prayer expectancies are associated with lower anxiety in the American population. In this study, we draw on nationally representative data from Wave 6 of the Baylor Religion Survey (2021) to examine whether four subtypes of prayer are associated with anxiety: prayer efficacy (the belief that prayer can solve personal and world problems) devotional prayer (praise of God and prayer for the well-being of others) prayers for support (e.g., better health, financial aid) and prayer expectancies (whether God answers prayers). Scholars have increasingly recognized that there are different types of prayer and various prayer purposes, but little work has been done to examine their mental health consequences beyond an examination of prayer frequencies. Prayer, considered by some to be the essence of religion, has been a universal behavior throughout human history. ![]()
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