In the name of …: Legitimate interactants in the dialogue of prayer

Abstract

Prayer, it is said, is a communicative act, a conscious dialogue. But with whom does the supplicant speak? How do individuals conceptualize and choose their partners in prayerful interaction? Many explain an individual's choice of prayer “target” with reference to religious affiliation. But in this paper, we suggest religious affiliation tells only part of the story. If prayer is truly a communicative act, then selecting a co-interactant should involve additional social factors—factors beyond the directives of religious socialization or doctrine. To explore this idea, we spoke to 100 individuals regarding their prayer practices. We found that respondents’ selection of appropriate prayer targets is influenced by (1) characteristics of individuals’ social profiles, including not simply religious affiliation but gender, marital status, and occupation; (2) individuals’ interactive intent—i.e. the purpose or goal of their prayers and (3) individuals’ prayer “histories”—i.e. their perceptions of the targets that regularly respond to their appeals. These findings suggest that prayer is much more than a ritual ordained by religious training—the product of what Jerolmack and Porpora call “uncritical habituation” (2004: 157). Rather, prayer is enacted and perceived in accord with the norms and practices that guide broader, more secular sites of interaction and exchange. While prayer presumably transports individuals to an other-worldly domain, it nevertheless originates from a worldly place with shared behavioral rules and expectations.