Friday, January 02, 2009

Prayer is Popular


The United States may be a secular nation, but its people are anything but. In fact, 90 percent of Americans have a spiritual interlude with God every day, according to a new study released last week and covered in the Washington Times. "Most prayer writers imagine a God who is accessible, listening, and a source of emotional and psychological support, who at least sometimes answers back," said Wendy Cadge, a sociologist who directed the research for Brandeis University.


The findings, though, have been supported for years. In 2004, a survey of more than 31,000 adults released by the National Institutes of Health found that prayer is the most commonly used "alternative medicine." It's even more popular than acupuncture, chiropractic, yoga and vitamins.


Why do so many media outlets talk about accupuncture, yoga, meditation and Eastern mysticism? Any bias here?


Gary Sweeten

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