More Than Half of U.S. Adults Still Pray Daily, Survey Shows
from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 26, 1999

The United States is still a prayerful nation.  Slightly more than half of U.S. adults pray daily and nearly three-quarters believe that God "definitely" answers their appeals, according to a survey of 1,015 people by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University.

The survey also found that young people are half as likely to have a daily prayer life as are middle-aged and older American's.  Nearly four-fifths of all Americans prefer to do most of their praying alone rather than with family and friends.

"The world and our politically correct society have inflicted some damage here.  Many people now feel embarrassed to pray in public." concluded religious activist William J. Murray

"I live in a conservative, predominantly Baptist county in rural Virginia and it is only very occasionally that you see people praying in restaurants before they eat," said Murray.  He is best known for his crusade to reverse the Supreme Court ban on public school prayer obtained in 1963 by his mother, atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair.

"Public prayer was very common once.  I remember watching old film clips of Babe Ruth when the New York Yankees would open their home games with a prayer.  that doesn't happen anymore."

The survey found that 29 percent of adults 18 to 24 report that they pray daily, compared to 68 percent of people 65 or older.  Not all religious leaders are disturbed by this trend, however.  

"I've noticed some young people who do pray everyday, but they don't call it prayer," said Benedictine Abbot Aidan Shea, head of St. Anselm Abbey in Washington.

They don't assume a particular attitude or say particular words.  But they are very reflective people who turn to what some of them call  'the mystery' rather than God.  They don't use traditional terms.

The survey found that people who attend church regularly are also more likely to pray daily than are people who attend church in frequently or not at all.  Even so, more than one-third of the adults who said they have not attended worship services recently also aid they have regular prayer habits.

"I regard myself as a deeply spiritual person, although I don't find this in a traditional church setting," said June Cotner author of "Family Celebrations" and four other anthologies of American prayers.  "but for me, prayer helps me to connect with God.  Prayer is very positive.  If we put good thoughts into the universe, it helps us to advance."

The survey found that 66 percent want public schools to encourage children to pray in the classroom.  Adults in the poll also tended to believe that prayer can bring changes.  Seventy-one percent believe God "definitely" answers their personal petitions, while 15 percent believe their prayers are "probably" being answered.  Only 10 percent said their prayers are "probably not" or definitely not" being answered."

The poll found a frequent disconnect between belief in prayer and its practice.  Only 56 percent said a family member usually says "grace or gives thanks to God aloud before meals." Only 19 percent said they often "pray aloud" with friends and family members.

The poll found that women, families with children, Southerners, blacks, and people living in rural areas or in small cities tended to have a much higher-than-average rate of daily prayer.  Men, residents of major cities, residents in northeastern states and single people who have never had children were less likely to pray daily.

The frequency of prayer varies considerably throughout the country, but the poll found that only 7 percent report that they "never" pray to God.

The survey was conducted Sept. 22 through Oct. 11 by Scripps Howard News Service and the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University.  Households were selected at random and residents were interviewed by telephone under the supervision of Professor Joe Bernt, director of the Scripps Survey Research Center in Athens, Ohio.

The survey has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.