Disasters of both natural and man-made origins often prompt a wide range of sympathy and support, with prayers typically offered by those of a religious persuasion.  A recent study from the University of Wyoming set out to explore whether the act of prayer had any impact on the level of financial support offered to victims of natural disasters.

The study saw a number of experiments conducted to test whether people were more likely to donate to help hurricane victims after praying.  It builds upon previous work that suggested that people were more likely to donate to such causes after thinking about the victims in a prayer.

The latest study suggests things might not be so straightforward however.  Indeed, after people had prayed for the hurricane victims, they actually donated less, due in large part because they believed that their prayer was sufficient to boost the welbeing of the victim.  This didn’t occur however when people thought about the victims instead.

“The result implies that victims of natural disasters may be financially worse off from people expressing their sympathy through the act of praying,” the researchers say. “However, this does not mean that recipients of prayers are worse off in terms of welfare. It is entirely possible that a recipient of prayers assigns a positive (monetary) value to a prayer, which may or may not exceed the value by which monetary donations drop due to the act of praying.”

Valuable support

While theological support may be one thing when it comes to individuals, it can often be altogether more important when conducted by political leaders.  So common has it become for leaders to offer ‘thoughts and prayers’ to victims of disasters that it has almost become insincere and a largely meaningless gesture that isn’t coupled with meaningful action.

That’s not to say that all prayers are meaningless however, and as mentioned, previous research has associated prayers with an increase in supportive actions, whether donating money or time.  They are also likely to increase levels of empathy and awareness.  Where things perhaps aren’t so helpful is when prayer is seen as a substitute for donations and other physical modes of support.

“The results suggest that calls for thoughts and prayers in response to major catastrophes — whether conducted individually or by entire communities — might affect, in unexpected and important ways, people’s related behavior to benefit others,” the authors conclude.