The Effects of Prayer in Healing

1. INTRODUCTION

            The battle between the religious community and the skeptics on the issue of the positive effects of prayer in healing is almost as old as religion and science. Since prayer is relative to the existence of God, which is denied by science, experiments and studies conducted relative to its significance in healing have been attacked by many criticisms. Science attributed the positive results of the studies and experiments to the mind-body interactions and were tried to explain as natural phenomena.

This writer however recognizes the limitations of the human mind and thus believes in the reality of prayer as a significant tool in healing. This thesis is committed to prove that the existence of God who answers prayers is true and undeniable. Furthermore, this writer would like to make it clear that this thesis does not place favoritism on Christianity and thus have tried to present the general concepts of prayer by the other major religions. The paper centered its discussions on proving the positive effects of prayer in healing and slightly on the proofs of the existence of God.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

            This thesis aims to establish proofs that: (1) prayer has positive effects on healing, (2) that God answers prayers regardless of religion and (3) that the existence of God who answers prayers is a reality and not a fantasy.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

            Man is a finite being who come across with realities beyond man’s understanding. Thus, the writer finds it important to prove that prayer as having positive effects on healing is a reality and cannot be fully explainable using scientific methods. It is also important for people to strengthen their faith in God and displace the opinion of others that God favors any religion.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

            This thesis used the well-known experiments and studies relative to the efficacy of prayer in healing as references. This paper also limited its scope on using the King James Version of the Holy Bible, and used only few of the passages in the Quran. Also this author tried to make the discussion to the simplest possible means and avoided scientific terms that are hard to understand by non-scientists and medical practitioners. This is for the purpose of making this paper as substantive as possible yet simple and straight to the point.

METHODOLOGY

            This writer tried to gather and used published articles and experiments to make this study reliable. The general concepts of prayer were briefly discussed to refresh the readers on the significance of the subject as a natural inclination of a finite being created by an infinite God. The writer also discussed the arguments of both the advocates and the skeptics in the different aspects and fields where the prayer debate is a major event.

1. THE GENERAL CONCEPTS OF PRAYER

            Regardless of religion, prayer is basic to believers: Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus communicate with their Gods in their own ways. Because it is the efficacy of prayer in healing that is the core of this paper, the researcher find it worthy to have a brief discussion of the different concepts of prayer of the world’s major religions basically for the purpose of having a background on how vital prayer is in their lives.

            Prayer came from the words, ¹“euchestai” (Greek) and “precari” (Latin) and “Prier” (French), meaning to plead, beg or ask earnestly. ²It is a communication process where human beings are to connect with God. ³In Christianity, the Lord’s Prayer taught by Jesus

1. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Prayer. Retrieved on October 10, 2006 from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12345b.htm
2. Anon. What is Prayer?-Talking With God. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://www.allaboutprayer.org/what_is_prayer.htm
3. 3. Jewish Services. Christian Prayer. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/prayer
4. Prayer in Eastern Religions. Buddshism. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/prayer

Christ is considered to be a universal prayer. ⁴Buddhists accompany prayer with meditation. ⁵Islamic prayers called Duas are in the form of supplications wherein Muslims are able to communicate with Allah. They also do Salah, a short ritualistic prayer, five times a day facing Kaaba in Mecca. ⁶For the Hindus, they direct prayer to their god Brahman for the purpose of spiritual enlightenment.

            Whatever their means, however they regard the importance of prayer, believers pray basically to have their thoughts and feelings be presented to God. By these we can say that through prayers, a relationship between the Creator and the created is revealed. Through prayer, someone recognizes the presence of a Being, higher than man, who is able to answer one’s plea and supplication. So when someone prays, a belief that he will be heard, and be answered is present as a vital element. ⁷“Belief is part of human biology and even confers a survival advantage.”(H.Benson) In the absence of belief, someone needs not to pray because he eliminates the only element that recognizes his limitations. Because if man’s limitations that lead him to pray. Because of man’s limitations, prays in the belief that there’s someone who can do something beyond man’s and nature’s limitations.

            It maybe painful to accept, but human beings usually resort to prayers in difficult situations, in situations where they’re have nowhere to go. People pray almost only when they have had all their resources and means consumed and have prayer their last resort. ⁸“Prayer is the soil in which hope and healing grow best.” So when someone got sick, he prays, but how does prayer heals? Believers just have “faith” as an answer. To the skeptics, scientific proof that prayer works in healing is a requirement.

5. Islamic Prayer. Salah. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/prayer
6. 6. Prayer in Eastern Religions. Prayer is Hinduism. Wkipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/prayer
7. Cromie, William J. The Power of Healing. Does It Have A Prayer? The Harvard University Gazette. Retrieved on October 25, 2006 from http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/1997/09.11/ThePowerof Healing.html
8. Prayer’s Effects. Our Daily Bread Daily Devotional. November 23, 2002. Retrieved on October 27, 2006 from http://www.rbc.org/odb-11-23-02.shtml

BIBLICAL REFERENCES AND CONCEPT OF PRAYER

            “Therefore I say unto you, what things so even ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”(Luke 11:24)

            In the Bible, faith is a must in prayer. In the Old Testament, prayer is conducted in consultation with God. In Genesis 4:26 and Samuel 28:6, we can read that God and man communicate through the prophets, (which were then man’s representative to God in presenting their needs). In the New Testament, we can see a lot of examples of how prayer works in the lives of the people during the time of Jesus. It is also in the New Testament where Jesus taught men how to pray and the “Lord’s Prayer” as an example.

            When someone who is ill is being prayed for and did not heal, does it mean that prayer didn’t work? The Bible has answers to his question. In I John 5:14 and 15, “and this is the confidence that we have in Him that, if we ask anything according to His will, he heareth us: and we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” Also in Luke 18:1, we read, “…that man always ought to pray and not faint.” From these verses, we can extract the key elements of effective prayer:

• Pray properly- the Bible says that the object of ⁹prayer has to be worthy of God. The Bible is clear that the intention has to be according to God’s will for the prayer to be heard. So when our prayers are not being answered, James 4:3 has something to say about this: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
• Pray purposely- “asking for what we want and need doesn’t mean that we are going to get it, but it does allow us to be honest with ourselves before God.”(B. Davis) The Bible therefore teaches us to pray not just to ask but to honestly present our thoughts and feelings to God, and in that way we are establishing and strengthening our relationship with God.
• Pray persistently- In Luke 18:1, the Bible teaches us to pray persistently: “and he spoke a parable unto them to this end that man ought always to pray, and not to faint.” ⁹Our prayer has to be sincere and had to have the trust in God’s fidelity.

            Everyone is encouraged to pray. The first step is to humble ourselves in front of God and present our requests with belief and without reservation. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

THE CONCEPT OF INTERCESSORY PRAYER

            Bulk of this paper’s discussion on the different studies conducted about the effects of prayer focuses on intercessory prayer. It is this form of prayer where most scientific studies and surveys were concentrated on. Through intercessory prayer, one is able to pray for others. Harold Koenig has higher regard on this form of prayer as he said, ¹⁰“praying for someone is like a prayer one step above, because that means you are concerned with the benefit other people.” In most studies, groups of religious people were asked to pray for the sick. In most cases, patients who are part of the experiment were grouped as to whether they will be prayed for or not. The results are then measured according to patient’s recovery rate and its complications.

9. Conditions of Prayer. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12345.htm
10. What Religion Can Do For Your Health? Interview by Lisa Schneider. Retrieved on October 25, 2006 from http://www.beliefnet.com/story/190/story_19034_1.html

III. MEDICAL STUDIES AND SURVEYS ON THE EFFECTS OF PRAYER IN HEALING

            Of the 400 scientific studies relative to the effects of prayer in healing reviewed by the ¹¹Association of Unity Churches, they reported 75% having a positive effect. Probably the best-known of these experimental studies is the one lead by Randolph Byrd at San Francisco General Hospital on 393 patients admitted at the coronary unit. This double-blinded randomized experiment was conducted from August 1982 to May 1983, with the aim of having a significant figure on the intercessory prayer in the recovery of the said patients. Byrd randomly divided the patients into two groups. Group A consists of 192 patients, received intercessory prayer from the participants representing the major religious groups. The rest of the patients, group B, were not prayed for.

It is important to note that the patients do not know that they are being prayed for, and neither of patients and the prayer groups knows each other. ¹²Results showed no statistical difference at entry point. However, upon discharge, the prayed for group were found to have lower severity score of P {.01 based on hospital course. Significant effects over the controlled group (those who did not received intercessory prayer) include 3:16 ratio of antibiotic requirement, 0:12 requirements on the insertion of the tube into the throat for breathing assistance and 6:18 ratio of the patients’ likelihood of developing pulmonary edema. Byrd then concluded that, “the intercessory prayer to the Judeo-Christian God has beneficial therapeutic effect in patients’ admittance to the coronary unit.” Studies of the same design and objectives were conducted after Byrd’s experiment- to confirm his finding for those who support his conclusion; and to prove him wrong for those who don’t.

            The writer would like to make it clear that this sturdy does not favor Christianity and thus, do not stress Christian way of praying. The writer further believes that religion does not

11. Lamb, Gregory M. Study Highlights Difficulty of Isolating Effects of Prayer on Patients. The Christian Science Monitor. April 03, 2006 edition. Retrieved on October 25, 2006 from http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0403/p13s02_lire.html
12. Byrd, Randolph C. Positive Therapeutic Effects of Prayer on a Coronary Unit Population. Southern Medical Association Journal. July 1988,81(7):826-829

matter much in considering the effects of prayer. In fact, experiments conducted on the effects of prayer in healing involved not only the Christian community but also the other religions of the world. Although it is true that religion has something to do with the person’s way of living, and thus affect one’s health, it is not the religion that matters here. As stressed earlier, the God who answers prayers does not consider whether you are a Christian or a Muslim.

In a study conducted at Allama Iqbal Medical College in Lahore, prayer not only to the Christian God is proven to have significant effect. The study aimed to measure the effect of late night prayer (Tahajid Salat) on depression. Patients were divided into two groups. One group has to recite the Holy Quran, offer prayer and be busy in invocation (dhihkr). The other group will just be busy in home tasks. According to Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, 25 out of 32 patients belonging to the experimental group showed ¹³“remarkable recovery”, while the other group showed no change at majority.

            God even answers prayers of those who do not even belong to any religious group. God looks into the intention and the humility of the heart. It is the sincerity and the perseverance and the faith of the person that is considered. ¹⁴“A patient when faced with serious illness even not so religious sometimes turns to God for some difficult questions and then finds support through his spiritual beliefs even outside the context of an organized religion.” (Shahid Athar)

            A study on Alcoholics at Bastyr University in Seattle Washington that prayer works even on patients who are non-believers. The proponents issued a statement saying that ¹⁵“it is hard to understand how intercessory or non-local prayer works on non-believers. This is the situation where the sick person are prayed for and do not even know it.” Studies on non-

13. Majid, Abdul. The Healing Power of Faith and Prayer. Retrieved on October 31, 2006 from http://www.crescentlife.com/psychstuff/healing_power_of_faith_and_prayer.htm
14. Athar, Shahid. Spirituality, Medicine and Religion. Retrieved on October 31, 2006 from http://www.islam-usa.com/SpiritMed.htm

15.The Proof That Prayer Works. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://www.1stholistic.com/prayer/hol_prayer_proof.htm

human subjects confirm that prayer really works. These experiments are perfect examples of prayer working outside religion. On the 131 successful controlled experiments, researchers have come up with the following results: the prayed for rye grass grew taller, the prayed for test tube bacteria grew faster and the prayed for yeast resisted the toxic effects of cyanide. ¹⁶With these results Larry Dossey said, “It is the best evidence if all that prayer can change the world.”

1. THE SOCIAL AND MEDICAL ACCEPTABILITY OF PRAYER IN HEALING

            Setting aside scientific studies and experiments, prayer still has a worldwide acceptance, being a vital part of the healing process. ¹⁷In a survey conducted by Newsweek in America, 84% believe that praying for others can have a positive effect on their recovery. 53% said they personally rely on religious faith to help them get through a major illness or health problem. 72% of the respondents believe that God can cure people given no chance of survival by medical science. It is to be stressed out that the results are not out of the ordinary people’s understanding and knowledge on the scientific or medical explanations, if any, of what prayer can do to affect healing. Those who are in the medical practice, well-known and experts in their own fields pray for their patients or at least ask the relatives of the patients to pray. ¹⁸Dr. Dale Matthews of Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington D.C. had his personal experiences as a doctor confirming “where a positive effect of prayer has been revealed.” Larry Dossey, M.D., the author of the book “Healing Words” and “Prayer is Good Medicine” firmly believes in the healing effects of prayer and its “potential as a partner of medical science.” Of his many investigations and reviews on medical experiments relative to the effects of prayer, he has found that within the medical community, ¹⁹“there is an increasing acceptance of the need to explore the effects of spirituality on medicine.” Dr. Harold Koenig, who serves as Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke

16. Dossey, Larry. Prayer and Medical Science. Archives of Internal Medicine 2000. June 26; 160: 1735-1738
17. Hallowell, Kelly. Worldnet Daily Exclusive Commentary. Prayer Heals. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news.article.asp?article_ID=43031
18. Matthews, Dale (1998). The Faith Factor: Proofs of the Healing Power of Prayer. Penguin Books. New York
19. Dossey, Larry (1989). Recovering the Soul: A Scientific and Spiritual Approach

University Medical Center, and author of the books “The Healing Power of Faith” and “Faith and Mental Health”, believes that “praying for health or recovery from an illness works.” As evidence to the increasing acceptance of prayer in the field of medicine, 80out of 126 medical schools in the United States now have formal courses ²⁰“that examine the evidence surrounding the healing power of prayer.” Dr. Marilyn Baetz of the Department of Psychiatry and the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon has done her own study on 88 depressed and medicated psychiatric patients. The result was that ²⁰“those who pray and attend worship services to cope with their illness has shorter hospital stays and higher life satisfaction” than those who don’t. Let us consider Elizabeth Targ’s study in Table 1.1. Her experiment on psychiatric patients has considerably favorable results. It is to be noted that the experiment was done the second time, with double number of patients and still, she got the same results: ²⁰“the patients who received prayer fared much better.”

            Some feared that since prayer has significant effect in healing, it may ²¹“pose a threat to the integrity of the medical profession.” (Goldstein, J.) Larry Dossey cited a sturdy relative to this matter in his article originally published in the Archive of Internal Medicine entitled “Prayer and Medical Science”. The said ¹⁶American survey revealed that 80% of the respondents believe that prayer can improve their course of illness. Almost 70% of physician report religious inquiries for counseling on terminal illness. ¹⁶Dossey further stressed that only 10% of physicians inquire on their patients’ spiritual belief and practice. ¹⁶These figures do not suggest that patients trust on the physician’s ability to help them be cured is lessened because of the belief in the power of prayer. It is but fair enough to say that their confidence and hope in getting healed is heightened and strengthened when prayer is employed. Prayers also will somehow work not only for the patients but also for the attending physicians. Prayers include prayers for God’s guidance on the physicians on the process of medication.

16. Dossey, Larry. Prayer and Medical Science. Archives of Internal Medicine 2000. June 26; 160: 1735-1738
17. Buuren, Ylva Van (2004). Can Prayer Really Heal? Canadian Living. April 2002. Retrieved on October 31, 2006 from http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0763.html
18. Goldstein, J. Waiving Informed Consent For Research on Spiritual Matters? Archive of Internal Medicine 2000. 160:1870-1871

Physicians are humans, and despite the fact that they experts in their own fields, error has its way through. In fact, in a survey on American adults, who were asked about their concerns before checking into the hospital, ²²revealed that 61% are concerned about being given the wrong medication. Such concern does not however stop a patient to consult a physician. In fact, in a survey revealed that ²³one-half of the respondents believe that their physicians should pray with them.

            There are a lot more known physicians who professed that they recommend prayer to their patients. The long list of names proves that prayer is socially and medically acceptable as having a significant effect on healing.

1. THE ACCEPTABILITY OF PRAYER AS PART OF HEALING IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY

            Of anything related to God, the scientific community must have been the most skeptical of all. Unless proven by scientific methods and backed up by solid scientific data, any hypothesis to the contrary is null and void. Since the existence of God has not yet been proven scientifically, and since the existence of God is beyond and outside natural laws, God does not officially exist in the science community. Thus, since prayer as part of healing is relative to the existence of God, it has not yet been accepted as having a significant effect in healing.

            The experiments and studies done on proving that prayer has significance in healing have been attacked with countless criticisms by skeptics. Victor J. Stenger in his article entitled “Reality Check”, ²⁴claims that prayer works by “purely material brain-body interactions with nothing supernatural required.” ²⁴On his analysis on Larry Dossey’s “The

22. Patient Concerns: ICR for American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. USA Today. December 07, 1999.7D
23. King DE, Bushwick B. Beliefs and Attitudes of Hospital Patients About Faith, Healing and Prayer. Journal of Family Practice. 1994; 39: 349-352
24. Stenger, Victor J. Reality Check. The Science of Prayer. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/avalos_17_3.html

Science of Prayer”, Stenger points on the statistical results of Byrd’s experiment as ²⁵“probably due to chance” and stressed that “the medical journals have low standards compared to other fields of science”, and thus render the results unacceptable. On the contrary, Sherwin B. Nuland, a surgeon and an author states, ²⁶“no more than 15% of medical interventions are supported by reliable scientific evidence.” Supporting the idea, ²⁷Richard Smith of the British Medical Journal explained that “it is partly because only 1% of the articles in medical journals are scientifically sound and partly because many treatments have not been assessed at all.” This only means that in the medical profession we don’t have to wait for 100% scientific evidence that a procedure is efficient when health is at stake. The Lancet editor Richard Horton stressed that, ²⁸“we should be prepared to take action to diminish those risks even when the scientific knowledge is not conclusive.”

This writer however finds it unfair to just look into the flaws of a single experiment. Since it is not only Byrd’s experiment which showed proofs of the positive effects of prayer in healing, several other well-done experiments with well-documented results hold the reality that the God who answers prayers exists. Physician documented healing where prayer is employed, like those of ²⁰Candis McLean were only few of the unexplained cures attributed to as the effect of prayer. Some claimed that the effect of prayer is only a matter of mind-body interaction and that prayer’s effect is more of psychological in nature, and thus can be explained by natural laws. But the reality that experiments on non-human subjects proved the efficacy of prayer; it must be something beyond nature. The problem with science is that most scientists resist the existence of an infinite Being who has capacity to work on the physical world beyond the understanding and knowledge of human beings.

            ²⁹“Science is about nothing if not for the search for parsimonious explanations for

25. Stenger, Victor L. Can Science Prove that Prayer Works? Retrieved on October 27, 2006 from http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/avalos_17_3.html
26. Nuland, SB. Medical Fads: Bran, Midwives and Leeches. New York Times. June 25, 1995. A15
27. Smith, Richard.Where is the Wisdom? British Medical Journal. 1991. 303: 798-799
28. Dossey, Larry. Prayer and Medical Science. Archives of Internal Medicine 2000. June 26; 160: 1735-1738
29. Buuren, Ylva Van (2004). Can Prayer Really Heal? Canadian Living. April 2002. Retrieved on October 31, 2006 from http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0763.html
30. Horton, Richard. The New Public Health of Risk and Medical Engagement. Lancet 1998; 352. 251-252

observed phenomena. (J. Levin)” Dr. Jeffrey Levin of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School believes in the existence of a transcendent God who supernaturally heals. The existence of God according to Levin is the ²⁹“most parsimonious explanation for why people are healed after praying to God.” Levin is not alone. In a survey of ¹⁶American scientists on their spiritual beliefs, 39% of them believe in God who answers prayers, ¹⁶the highest percentage is attributed to the field of mathematics.

            Hector Avalos, in his article entitled “Can Science Prove that Prayer Works?” admitted the limitation of science as he said, “the most we could say about an event whose cause is unknown is that the cause is unknown.” ¹⁶In his critics on Larry Dossey’s stand on prayer as a good medicine, he explained that people believe in the power of prayer due to factors like false assumptions, wrong information and wishful thinking.  His explanations however does not hold true on experiments where patients don’t even know they are being prayed for. Another thing is that, patients involve in the experiments may also involve non-believers who have benefited from the efficacy of prayer.

            Harold Koenig is clear in his point: “We should not think that science can answer all questions there is.” This writer believes science should accept that there are realities that human minds are not able to explain. The existence of God who answers prayers and the efficacy of prayer in healing set a significant difference between reality and what science called fantasy. Man is a finite being who comes across with realties beyond the reach of his limited mind. ³⁰“What we need is a broader definition of reality.” (L. Watson) That reality is the existence of a God who heals in way that cannot be proven by science.

16. Dossey, Larry. Prayer and Medical Science. Archives of Internal Medicine 2000. June 26; 160: 1735-1738
17. Levin, Jeffrey S. How Prayer Heals: A Theoretical Model. Alternative Therapies. January 1996. Vol. 2, No. 1
18. Watson, Lyall. Beyond Supernature: A New Natural History of the Suprenatural. Toronto, Ontario; Bantam. 1988. p266
19. CONCLUSION

            Despite the fact that not all experiments conducted on the significance of prayer in healing were successful, the significant result figures of the successful and well-documented ones have proven that prayer works. Regardless of religion, we have proven that there is an infinite God who answers prayers of the finite beings. The results of the studies even have proven that in the absence of solid scientific proofs, prayer has positively worked on the recovery of even the terminally ill patients. The absence of scientific explanations to the positive effects of prayer in healing, prayer has proven its worth as a tool in the healing process. For all these, the writer would like to conclude this paper with Dr. Jeffrey Levin’s statement: “The existence of a transcendent God who bestows supernatural blessings of healing cannot be proven by science; it is a matter of faith.” How prayer works is beyond the reach of the human mind and that science should accept that the efficacy of prayer in healing is a reality bestowed by an infinite God who hears and answers prayers.

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3. 3. Jewish Services. Christian Prayer. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/prayer

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5. Islamic Prayer. Salah. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/prayer

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8. Prayer’s Effects. Our Daily Bread Daily Devotional. November 23, 2002. Retrieved on October 27, 2006 from http://www.rbc.org/odb-11-23-02.shtml

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14. Athar, Shahid. Spirituality, Medicine and Religion. Retrieved on October 31, 2006 from http://www.islam-usa.com/SpiritMed.htm

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17. Hallowell, Kelly. Worldnet Daily Exclusive Commentary. Prayer Heals. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news.article.asp?article_ID=43031

18. Matthews, Dale (1998). The Faith Factor: Proofs of the Healing Power of Prayer. Penguin Books. New York

19. Dossey, Larry (1989). Recovering the Soul: A Scientific and Spiritual Approach

20. Buuren, Ylva Van (2004). Can Prayer Really Heal? Canadian Living. April 2002. Retrieved on October 31, 2006 from http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0763.html

21. Goldstein, J. Waiving Informed Consent For Research on Spiritual Matters? Archive of Internal Medicine 2000. 160:1870-1871

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