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reduced alcohol consumption. They also found that spirituality, meditation, and private prayer proved to help

people regulate their emotions. This led to not only their psychological system be healthier, but also their

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physiological system to be healthier too. This is because as humans we have evolved, much like other
animals, to prefer the things in life that provide happy experiences. For many people, they pursue religion

because the levels of reassurance and comfort it provides gives them happiness. This is because the human

brain is wired to seek happiness and stay away from the things in life that cause us any sort of distress. Our

bodies are full of neurochemicals that provide us with positive feelings. As humans, we are becoming less and

less detached from the world around us. We are changing how we are living faster than our bodies can evolve.

For this reason, our minds and bodily systems are not caught up to where we are culturally. This is causing

mental health disorders to become more prevalent, making ways to release the "happiness neurochemicals"

that much more important in our lives. The names of some of these chemicals are dopamine, oxytocin,

endorphin, GABA, serotonin, and adrenaline. Dopamine is what motivates us to do things that are rewarding,

and what makes us seek out pleasure. The best way to have dopamine releases is through setting a goal and

completing it. For people of religious faith, the goal of being in heaven one day after they die may trigger

dopamine responses, motivating us to push towards that end goal. Another chemical, oxytocin, is linked to

human bonding, trust, and loyalty. This chemical is often mostly contributed to human contact. GABA is

known as “the anti-anxiety molecule”. It decreases neuron firing which leads to us feeling calmer. GABA

production can be induced by practicing yoga or meditation. This is a very important link to prayer, as prayer

is a ritual, and rituals are very much so a form of meditation. 3

It is also entirely possible that we are training our brains to release these chemicals through meditative

prayer, leading to our bodies naturally healing because of subconscious hormone production. In this sense,

could prayer possibly be a placebo effect on our body? Are we inducing chemical releases by believing that a

supreme being is going to support us and help us solve our problems? The placebo effect is the way our

bodies heal themselves through a medical treatment that appears to be real but is not. If a patient with a

medical issue expects positive results after a procedure, their body may act accordingly without them

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