Abstract
The sociology of prayer has a long history and routinely stresses the centrality of prayer to religious belief and ritual solidarity. Still, we have struggled to clearly define the parameters of prayer and the various components of this ubiquitous practice. Drawing from a comprehensive literature review of prayer research, we propose that there are four conceptually distinct dimensions of the private prayer experience which vary across religious cultures and traditions; they are (1) the quantity of prayer, (2) the style of prayer, (3) the purpose of prayer, and (4) prayer targets. Our proposed measures of these dimensions offer researchers a framework to better theorize and investigate the social mechanisms which produce variation in prayer as well as the individual and social outcomes of prayer. In particular, we discuss how each prayer dimension fits within specific theoretical framings to better test the extent to which the emotional, rational, and behavioral elements matter to prayer outcomes.
Highlights
Interaction Ritual (IR) Theory (Collins 2004; see Draper 2019), we argue that the felt emotional experience of prayer is the mechanism by which prayer affects belief, behavior, and belonging
Mosques, temples, and other less organized religious groups define the practical matters of prayer—how often, how long, and to what end—which individuals embrace in their daily spiritual lives
While the importance of prayer quantity might be explained by its relation to social stability and the importance of prayer styles might be explained by their relation to social network structures, both the purpose of prayer and prayer targets are reflections of individual perspectives with no obvious social structural correlates
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. While individuals do not always pray to “God” and sometimes communicate with deceased loved ones, ghosts, spirits, and vague essences, it is important to note the personality characteristics of communication partner; and image of God literature provides a framework for this research These four dimensions of prayer can be measured and compared across religious traditions. Beginning with the fact that the meaning and practice of prayer are socially guided, the prayer experience creates a different reality for the practitioner This reality, once aroused, offers believers the ability to communicate privately and directly with the divine on their own. Mosques, temples, and other less organized religious groups define the practical matters of prayer—how often, how long, and to what end—which individuals embrace in their daily spiritual lives These institutions and communities provide the worldviews and theologies which explain the purpose of prayer. We can begin to hypothesize how these variations are theoretically predictive of varied outcomes
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