Too Blessed to be Stressed? Correlations between Prayer, Scripture Readings, and Mental Health Measures

Abstract

Throughout history, healing has been associated with spirituality. Even today, many believe in the power of prayer for wellness and healing and find it especially relevant to areas of mental health. This thesis gives a historical glimpse into the topic, reviews the state of current research, analyzes data from a national survey conducted among young adults in the US, and conducts a novel controlled experiment of prayer and mental health among young adults in the Waco area. The findings show a significant positive correlation between different types of prayer, scripture readings, and various measures of mental health. The implications of these findings are discussed, and suggestions for future research are outlined.