Prayers were performed by members of three Christian groups in monasteries and elsewhere - two Catholic and one Protestant - who were given written prayers and the first name and initial of the last name of the prayer subjects. The prayers started on the eve of or day of surgery and lasted for two weeks.
Turns out prayers don’t help – I could’ve told them that without performing a 10 year study:
Analysing complications in the 30 days after surgery, researchers found no differences between those patients who were prayed for and those who were not.
What’s more – even the “prayer placebo” effect seems to be harmful:
But a significantly higher number of patients who knew they were being prayed for - 59 per cent - suffered complications, compared with 51 per cent who were uncertain. The authors left open the possibility this was a chance finding. But they said being aware of the strangers’ prayers may also have caused some patients a kind of performance anxiety.
The study also found more patients in the prayer group - 18 per cent - suffered major complications, like heart attack or stroke, compared with 13 per cent in the group that did not receive prayers.
I just came up with a perfect idea for another study, which would determine which religion is the best. Repeat the study, but this time introduce different religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism etc.), and see which one produces the best results. You could even mix it up a little, and have members of one religion, praying for a patient with different beliefs. After doing some correlation, you could determine which religion is most “destination blind” (sort of like type 0 blood). I would also suggest, picking only Atheist doctors, because otherwise Judaism may prove to be the most successful religion, while Jehova Witnesses would end up the least effective one (especially in patients requiring blood transfusion).