In short
A 2023 meta-analysis of 23 randomized trials found religion and spirituality integrated therapy was moderately more effective than standard care for religious patients (Hedges g = 0.52), and prospective research links faith to a modestly better course of depression. These are associations, not proof that prayer cures illness. By contrast, the largest intercessory-prayer trial (STEP, 1,802 patients) found no benefit, so personal prayer and coping differ from praying-for-others trials. This page is not medical advice and is not a substitute for professional care.
- Faith-integrated therapy modestly outperformed standard care for religious patients.
- These are associations only, not proof that prayer cures illness.
- Personal prayer and coping differ from praying-for-others: the STEP trial found no benefit.
- This is not medical advice or a substitute for professional care.
A 2023 multi-level meta-analysis of 23 randomized controlled trials in Psychotherapy Research found that religion and spirituality integrated therapy was moderately more effective than standard treatment for religious patients, with a pooled effect of Hedges g = 0.52 (95% CI 0.24 to 0.80), and the benefit was strongest for depressed patients. This is an association, not proof that prayer cures illness. Prospective research (Braam and Koenig, 2019, 152 studies) links religion and spirituality to a modestly better course of depression, and Pew Research Center (2023-24) reports 44% of US adults pray daily. By contrast, the largest intercessory-prayer trial (STEP, 2006, 1,802 patients) found no benefit, so personal prayer and coping differ from praying-for-others trials.
advantage of faith-integrated therapy over standard care for religious patients
prospective studies linking religion to the course of depression
odds of depression incidence with religious service attendance
Key findings at a glance
| Metric | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faith-integrated therapy vs standard care (religious patients) | g = 0.52 | 2023 | Psychotherapy Research |
| Prospective studies on religion and depression | 152 studies | 2019 | Journal of Affective Disorders |
| Service attendance and depression incidence | 33% lower odds | 2025 | Journal of Religion and Health |
| Largest intercessory-prayer trial (STEP) | No benefit | 2006 | American Heart Journal |
| US adults who pray daily | 44% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who prayed for an end to the pandemic | 55% | 2020 | Pew Research Center |
Does prayer-integrated therapy work? What the trials show
The strongest evidence comes from randomized controlled trials of religion and spirituality integrated psychotherapy. Effects are modest, real, and largest for people who are already religious. The gain comes mainly from matching therapy to a patient’s existing beliefs, not from any claim that prayer itself heals.
Religion and spirituality integrated therapy was moderately more effective than standard treatment for religious patients, with a pooled effect of Hedges g = 0.52 (95% CI 0.24 to 0.80, p < .01) across 23 randomized controlled trials, according to a meta-analysis in Psychotherapy Research.
In a 2022 meta-analysis of 8 experimental studies covering 530 participants, 7 of 8 religious-based interventions consistently reduced depressive symptoms compared with control, according to the Journal of Affective Disorders.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trials pooled in the 2023 meta-analysis (27 comparison groups) | 23 RCTs | 2023 | Psychotherapy Research |
| Advantage persisting at follow-up (symptoms only) | g = 0.72 | 2023 | Psychotherapy Research |
| Post-treatment advantage on symptoms / on functioning and wellbeing | g = 0.44 / 0.62 | 2023 | Psychotherapy Research |
| Religious vs conventional internet-based CBT for depression | No difference | 2017 | PubMed |
Prayer, religion, and depression: the prospective evidence
Long-term cohort studies consistently link religious and spiritual involvement to a modestly better course of depression, though associations are small and mixed. This is correlation over time, not proven causation, and faith can cut both ways.
Across 152 prospective studies published through 2017, 49% reported at least one significant link between religion or spirituality and a better course of depression while 10% found more depression or mixed results, according to a systematic review in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
Meta-analysis found religious service attendance associated with a 33% reduction in the odds of depression incidence (odds ratio 0.67, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.81), as summarized in a 2025 review in the Journal of Religion and Health.
In a 2023 review of 45 longitudinal studies of young people, spiritual wellbeing was protective against depression over time (Pearson r = -0.153, 95% CI -0.187 to -0.118), according to BMC Psychiatry.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studies where religious struggle tracked more depression (average d = +0.30) | 59% | 2019 | Journal of Affective Disorders |
| Longitudinal plus intervention studies in the young-people review (ages 10 to 24) | 74 studies | 2023 | BMC Psychiatry |
| Rise in US adolescent depression (1991-2019) modeled as attributable to declining attendance | About 28% | 2025 | Journal of Religion and Health |
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Association, not causation: how to read the research honestly
Personal prayer and coping studies lean positive; intercessory-prayer trials do not. The distinction matters, and no study shows prayer cures illness. Personal prayer means praying yourself; intercessory prayer means strangers praying for a patient, which is what the large randomized trials tested and found to have no reliable effect.
In the STEP trial of 1,802 cardiac bypass patients, intercessory prayer from others was not associated with reduced complications (52% with prayer vs 51% without), according to the American Heart Journal.
In the Nurses’ Health Study of 89,708 women, attending religious services weekly or more was associated with an approximately 5-fold lower suicide rate versus never attending (hazard ratio 0.16, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.46), according to JAMA Psychiatry.
Association is not causation. Almost all of this evidence is observational: a 2025 Journal of Religion and Health review concluded that most evidence on religion and mental health is observational and therefore cannot definitively establish causation, even while its authors argue the protective links are likely causal. Nothing here is medical advice or a substitute for professional care.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studies suggesting religion and spirituality lowers anxiety (evidence is mixed) | About half | 2025 | Journal of Religion and Health |
| STEP trial 30-day mortality across groups (no significant difference) | 2.2% to 2.6% | 2006 | American Heart Journal |
| Praying with others and positive emotions vs negative emotions during prayer | Positive vs negative | 2021 | Journal of Religion and Health |
| Women attending weekly and lower risk of deaths of despair (33% lower for men) | 68% lower | 2020 | JAMA Psychiatry |
Prayer as a coping practice during crises
During the COVID-19 pandemic Americans turned to prayer in large numbers, and spiritual struggles cut both ways for mental health. Prayer functioned as a common coping response, including among people who rarely pray otherwise.
More than half of US adults (55%) said they had prayed for an end to the spread of the coronavirus in March 2020, according to Pew Research Center.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| People who seldom or never pray who still prayed for an end to the outbreak | 24% | 2020 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who said their religious faith became stronger due to the pandemic | 24% | 2020 | Pew Research Center |
| Religious and spiritual struggles during COVID-19 and psychological distress | Worse distress | 2022 | Review of Religious Research |
Prayer and everyday wellbeing in America
National surveys show how common daily prayer is and how it tracks with feelings of spiritual peace, gratitude, and happiness. These are population-level associations rather than evidence that prayer causes wellbeing.
44% of US adults say they pray daily, according to Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
62% of US adults feel a strong sense of gratitude or thankfulness at least weekly, according to Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decline in daily prayer since 2007 | 58% to 44% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and wellbeing at least weekly | 40% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Feel a deep sense of wonder about the universe at least weekly | 41% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Weekly service attenders who say they are very happy (vs 22% of non-religious) | 43% vs 22% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Meditate for spiritual reasons at least once a week | 23% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Do at least one spiritual activity weekly | 63% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
| Read scripture at least weekly outside religious services | 22% | 2023-24 | Pew Research Center |
How we compiled these statistics
Every figure on this page is traced to a Tier-1 primary source and dated to the year the data was collected. Therapy-efficacy figures come from peer-reviewed meta-analyses and randomized trials in Psychotherapy Research and the Journal of Affective Disorders. Depression and interpretation figures come from prospective reviews in the Journal of Affective Disorders, BMC Psychiatry, and the Journal of Religion and Health. Intercessory-prayer results come from the STEP trial in the American Heart Journal, and mortality-related associations from JAMA Psychiatry. Prevalence and wellbeing figures come from Pew Research Center, including its 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study and its March and April 2020 pandemic surveys. We distinguish personal prayer and faith-integrated therapy (modest correlational benefit) from distant intercessory prayer (no reliable effect), label effect sizes honestly, note high heterogeneity where it exists, and treat every health finding as association rather than cause. We exclude the retracted UK Quiet Revival data and rely on US Pew and peer-reviewed sources only. This page is a research summary, not medical advice, and is not a substitute for professional care.
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Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Psychotherapy Research (Bouwhuis-Van Keulen et al., 2023 meta-analysis, open access)
- Pew Research Center, 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study
- Journal of Affective Disorders (Braam & Koenig, 2019 prospective review)
- Journal of Religion and Health, "Religion and Mental Health: Is the Relationship Causal?" (2025)
- American Heart Journal, STEP intercessory prayer trial (Benson et al., 2006)
- JAMA Psychiatry (VanderWeele et al., religious service attendance and suicide / deaths of despair)
- BMC Psychiatry (Aggarwal et al., 2023 young-people review)
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