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The efficacy of prayer has been the topic of various studies since Francis Galton first addressed it in 1872. According to the ''Washington Post'', "...prayer is the most common complement to mainstream medicine, far outpacing acupuncture, herbs, vitamins and other alternative remedies."〔(Researchers Look at Prayer and Healing ), ''Washington Post'', March 24, 2006〕 The largest and most scientifically rigorous study of prayer's efficacy, the 2006 STEP project, found no significant difference whether subjects were prayed for or not, except some negative effects among those who knew they were receiving prayers.〔BENEDICT CAREY, (Long-Awaited Medical Study Questions the Power of Prayer ) ''New York Times,'' March 31, 2006 (accessed Nov. 17 2013)〕 Dr. Fred Rosner, an authority on Jewish medical ethics, has expressed doubt that prayer could ever be subject to empirical analysis.〔''Realized religion: research on the relationship between religion and health'' Theodore J. Chamberlain, Christopher Alan Hall 2007 ISBN 1-890151-53-X pages 33-35〕 On the issue of intercessory prayer, Christian teachings have emphasized the need for guidance from the Holy Spirit as to what needs to be prayed for and have taught that "God can not be coerced."〔''Intercessory Prayer: Modern Theology, Biblical Teaching And Philosophical Thought'' by Philip Clements-Jewery 2005 ISBN 0-7546-3828-6 page 24-27〕〔''The works of Dr. John Tillotson'', Volume 10 by John Tillotson, Thomas Birch 2009 ISBN 0-217-76300-6 pages 99-105〕〔''Talking to God: the theology of prayer'' by Wayne R. Spear 2002 ISBN 1-884527-13-2 pages 58-61〕 The philosophical controversy on this topic even involves the basic issues of statistical inference and falsifiability as to what it may mean to "prove" or "disprove" something, and the problem of demarcation, i.e., as to whether this topic is even within the realm of science at all. In comparison to other fields that have been scientifically studied, carefully monitored studies of prayer are relatively few. The field remains tiny, with about $5 million spent worldwide on such research each year.〔(Washington Post )〕 ==Studies on the efficacy of prayer== A number of studies have been performed to scientifically measure the impact of prayer, often within a medical setting. The studies performed have used different structural methods and measured both hard data (such as blood pressure variations) and soft data such as anxiety levels and number of doctor visits. They have measured ''first-person effects'' (where the beneficiary performs the prayer), ''second-person effects'' (where someone with a personal connection to the beneficiary performs the prayer), and ''third-party effects'' where a group of unknown people pray for the beneficiary. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Efficacy of prayer」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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