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September 2010_june_july_2009.qxd 29/09/2010 11:00 PM Page 35 Study investigates power of prayer healing 35 Study investigates power Skolnick is the former executive promiscuity, alcohol and drug abuse, and of prayer in healing director for the Center for Inquiry's smoking,” writes Dr. Michael Shermer, Commission for Scientific Medicine and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine. “When By Trevor Stokes Mental Health and served as an associate editor such variables are controlled for, the formerly of the Journal of the American Medical significant results disappear.” Jerry Crowden was on his way for a vacation on Association for nine years. Crowden continues to receive medial July 4, when a vehicle ran a red light and hit the The Southern Medical Journal published treatment, but said he is too ill to be interviewed pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Sheffield. a study in 1988 titled, “Positive Therapeutic at home. His wife, Darlene, escaped the upside- Effects of Intercessory Prayer in a Coronary “I've developed some problems,” he said down vehicle and Jerry, with a broken neck, Care Unit Population.” before traveling to the doctor in Birmingham pulled his daughter, Jennifer, and her friend The study has been widely panned in the this week. from the wreckage. past two decades since it published. For the skeptics, Garner said, “All I'll Members of his church community “This latest attempt by the Southern say is you may have to look at their personal rallied around and established e-mail lists and Medical Journal to promote itself and faith, the importance of prayer is obviously a phone trees to help pray for the pastor in need. Christianity is similarly embarrassing,” testament to our faith in Jesus Christ.” [] Doctors at UAB said if the pastor Skolnick writes. “The researchers begin by survived, he would become paraplegic. assuming that which they are trying to prove “With prayers, he is not!” said Lecia (that prayer has positive, but ‘poorly European Raelian Movement is Ford, one of Crowden's supporters. understood' clinical effect).” suing Pope Benedict XVI The majority of Americans share the In the study, the researchers used audio view that prayer has the power to deliver good and vision tests to evaluate 14 hearing-impaired health, a notion that scientists have tested and residents and 11 vision-impaired residents of The European Raelian Movement has later repudiated. Mozambique both before and after proximal filed a lawsuit against Pope Benedict XVI in the Four out of five Americans believe that prayer. High Court, Queen's Bench Division. The prayer works regardless of what a person The researchers found improvements in movement believes that because the Vatican has actually believes, according to a May Gallup both groups, improvements more expected than fought them in court in the past they have just poll. The poll included a random sample of suggestion or hypnosis, the authors conclude. cause in turning the tables. 1,049 adults interviewed in May via landline or Even the authors of the Mozambique ERM is making allegations that the Pope cell phone. study stated the limitations of peer-reviewed has violated international human rights laws, Researchers have looked into whether study. perpetrated genocide with his claims that prayer can impact a person's health, a field “There was no control group, only a null condoms do not stop the spread of AIDS and critics say is rife with pseudoscience. hypothesis of no significant effect,” the authors other offenses. That doesn't sway the feelings of the write in the Southern Medical Journal. What's more the ERM says that they can majority of Americans. The study also was not double-blinded. prove these allegations. “My feeling is that prayer is very “Several audition subjects showed no “The Vatican has maintained an ongoing beneficial to anyone, especially one who is measurable improvement, despite self-reported campaign against the ERM for years,” said going through difficult times,” said Dr. Eddy improvement,” the authors continued. Marcus Wenner, Raelian bishop of the U.K. Garner, director of missions for the Ronald Hamdy, editor-in-chief of the Raelian Movement in a press release. “That Colbert/Lauderdale Baptist Association, who Southern Medical Journal, wrote in an e-mail, campaign was obviously carried out in was familiar with Crowden's case. “The “We published this manuscript in answer to retaliation for the Movement’s clear stance important thing is that we are asking our living growing interest in complementary and against pedophilia and the cover-ups rampant God to intercede.” alternative medicine. The paper has been peer- within the Catholic Church clergy. And there are American and South African researchers reviewed by respected authorities in this area of several other tenets of Vatican policy the concluded that prayer can physically improve medicine. The limitations of this study have Raelian Movement directly opposes, such as its the health of those being prayed for, especially been clearly outlined in the paper.” genocidal position against using condoms in when the prayer is done physically close to the The field of scientific inquiry into how Africa, which results in continued HIV person in need. prayer works in the real world has a history of infections, deaths of millions and subsequent The researchers concluded that rural failures, according to experts. orphaning of children." residents in Mozambique who were hearing or One of the first recorded studies into According to ERM the actions or non- visually impaired showed improvements when prayer was done by Francis Galton in 1872, actions of the Vatican have violated many they received prayer that involved direct bodily who hypothesized that the British royal family international laws such as The Convention on contact, also referred to as proximal prayer. would live longer than commoners since family the Rights of the Child, The Charter of “We chose to investigate ‘proximal' members receive so many prayers from their Fundamental Rights of the European Union prayer because that is how a lot of prayer for subjects. (Articles X & XXII) and the Convention for the healing is actually practiced by Pentecostal and Galton found no difference. Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental charismatic Christians around the world,” said A more recent failure came from a Freedoms (Article IX). Candy G. Brown, associate religious studies Columbia University researcher who, in a 2001 The ERM are not the first to say they professor at Indiana University, Bloomington. study, concluded that pregnant women were want the Pope arrested. They however believe Brown led the study that was published twice as successful in their delivery when that they have a higher right to sue because of in August in the Southern Medical Journal that people prayed for them. the history of legal judgments against them. is based in Birmingham. Bruce Flamm, clinical professor of One of those cases involved a branch of the The research was funded by the John gynecology and obstetrics at the University of ERM, NOPEDO, where the Belgian court ruled Templeton Foundation, an organization that has California, said one of the authors was not an against them for publicizing the Vatican's received criticism from the scientific medical doctor, but held a degree in covering up of pedophilia cases. community as bringing religious questions into parapsychology. Last week a report was released in scientific inquiry. The peer-reviewed paper was published Belgium by church investigator Peter “I read through the Southern Medical by the Journal of Reproductive Medicine and Adriaenssens found that almost every diocese Journal's latest prayer study, and it brought to later was removed from its website. had cases of abuse. There were more than 300 mind a similar attempt by the journal's editors to “Many of these studies failed to control cases listed, mostly involving minors, in the gather a lot of public attention by publishing a for such intervening variables as age, sex, report. It is alleged that 13 of the victims seriously flawed study of the healing power of education, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, committed. Christian prayer (the editors seem indifferent to marital standing, degree of religiosity, and the the efficacy of prayers of other faiths),” wrote fact that most religions have sanctions against Andrew Skolnick via e-mail. such insalubrious behaviors as sexual (Continued on Page 38)