Leslie J. Francis and Jeff Astley, Psychological Perspectives on Prayer Herefordshire, UK: Gracewing, 2001, 392 Pages, 0 85244 518 0 (original) (raw)

2007, Pastoral Psychology

Within the psychology of religion, religiosity has often been theoretically conceptualised and empirically operationalised in a variety of different ways (Hill & Hood, 1999). One research approach has focused on prayer, and although this area had been traditionally neglected, there are signs that this position is now changing (Watts, 2000). Given this, Psychological Perspectives on Prayer is a timely addition to the research literature. The book chronicles thirty of the key studies on the psychology of prayer, mostly published since 1966, with one study by Galton, dating back to 1872. Psychological Perspectives on Prayer contains eleven chapters each comprising two to four sections. Each of the sections is preceded by a brief synopsis of the papers selected. Chapters two, three, and four respectively examine the relationship between prayer and psychological development, adolescence, and personality. Chapters five to ten respectively examine empirical evidence for the effects of intercessory prayer, the relationship between caregiving and prayer, how prayer relates to faith, quality of life, coping, and health. The concluding chapter examines the concept of prayer as therapy. Chapter one commences with a review of empirical research on the psychology of Christian prayer by Francis and Evans (1995). They argue that, although prayer is of central importance to the psychology of religion, the empirical study of prayer is an underdeveloped field of research. This chapter reviews what is known about prayer from empirical surveys. Studies are reviewed which report: differences in frequency of prayer among denominations and between sexes; the role of prayer in specific situations and at specific life stages; and the effects of prayer on both subjective and objective well-being.