Praying for peace: a study of visitors’ prayers offered at Liverpool Cathedral

Abstract

ABSTRACT Prayer is often described as the most significant religious practice in Christian tradition and broadly-based social surveys highlight the extent of the practice of personal prayer among general populations. Previous research has also shown that intercessory prayer-requests left in open-access Christian contexts offer rich and diverse sources of primary material that can offer valuable insights into the conceptions, concerns and aspirations of the many visitors passing through these sacred places. Prayer-requests relating to ‘peace’ are a recurring theme in such prayers, and although studies have identified and started to describe prayers for ‘peace’, there has been no focused study of this area. Through an analysis of a sample of prayer requests posted on Liverpool Cathedral’s online ‘prayer wall’, this study seeks to explore the conceptions, concerns and aspirations of these online visitors in relation to ‘peace’, and to begin a conversation about the contribution of any insights to academic research and to professional practice.