Original title: Psychological Functions of Prayer: Findings from a Series of Experiments Comparing Prayer to Self-Talk
Aaron Cherniak, Pehr Granqvist, Mario Mikulincer · September 2026
Scientists often study spiritual habits without looking at how they differ from non-religious habits that seem similar. In this project, researchers wanted to see if prayer does something different for our minds than talking to yourself. They asked Jewish participants to reflect on prayer, self-talk, or a routine daily activity. The team found that reflecting on prayer gave people a stronger sense of safety and made them care more for others than either secular comparison. Meanwhile, prayer and self-talk were equally good at boosting positive moods. Neither practice changed negative moods or personal distress. Prayer also made people feel greater transcendenceA feeling of being connected to something larger than yourself, beyond everyday experience., a feeling of connecting to something larger than yourself, compared to daily routines. Overall, prayer works uniquely because it connects a person to God, not just because it helps someone calm their thoughts.
Imagine you're nervous before a big test. You could talk to yourself in the mirror and say 'You've got this.' That helps a little. Now imagine instead you call a close friend who you trust completely, and they say the same thing. The words are similar, but the feeling is different—you feel safer because someone reliable is there. In this paper, prayer is like calling that friend, while self-talk is like talking to the mirror. Both boost your mood, but only the connection to someone else makes you feel truly secure.
For millions of people, prayer is a daily habit. This research suggests that prayer does more than calm you down—it specifically boosts feelings of security and concern for others, in ways that self-talk doesn't. That matters for psychologists designing mental health tools and for anyone trying to understand why religious practices persist across cultures.
The abstract does not specify whether effects generalize beyond Jewish participants, nor does it report long-term outcomes or behavioral measures. The transcendence finding was not significantly different from self-talk, so prayer's advantage there is unclear. All measures were self-reported, and the laboratory setting may not capture real-world prayer.
Ask anything about this paper. Answers come from its abstract, and say so when the abstract doesn't cover your question.
Psychological Functions of Prayer: Findings from a Series of Experiments Comparing Prayer to Self-Talk — Aaron Cherniak, Pehr Granqvist, Mario Mikulincer — PsyArXiv — doi:10.31234/osf.io/e67h8_v1
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper. This is a preprint, so it hasn't necessarily been peer reviewed.