A CNN report on a recent study about the perceived values of “thoughts and prayers” in the wake of a disaster questions the moral value and efficacy of praying for suffering strangers.
The study, published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, surveyed both religious and non-religious people who had been personally affected by Hurricane Florence in 2018. The methodology used in the study, led by Linda Thunström and Shiri Noy, included assigning monetary value to thoughts and prayers from religious officials and “Christian strangers.”
The approximately 400 study participants in North Carolina were also compensated for their time, according to the report. The study found that Christian participants assigned high values to thoughts and prayers from priests and strangers but that atheists did not. Some participants even suggested they would pay money for strangers not to send them thoughts and prayers in the wake of a disaster.
“The last result is surprising because one might expect that atheists/agnostics would be indifferent to people praying for them — why care, if you don’t believe in the gesture?” Thunström said of the atheists and “nonreligious” participants. “But that is not what we find — atheists and agnostics are averse to prayers, to the extent that they are willing to abstain money in order to ensure not to get a prayer from a Christian stranger. Hence, it is important to think about who the target person is when sending thoughts and prayers in the wake of hardship.”
After publishing the report early on Tuesday, CNN was the subject of sharp criticism from many online who felt that CNN seemed to be condemning positive thoughts and prayers for people struggling after a disaster.
“I’ve never heard a conservative or religious person use ‘thoughts and prayers’ in a way that is anything other than compassionate and genuine,” one Twitter user wrote, noting the potential political implications of the study and report. “I’ve never heard a progressive or atheist use it in a way that was anything other than sarcastic and vitriolic.”
I’ve never heard a conservative or religious person use “thoughts and prayers” in a way that is anything other than compassionate and genuine. I’ve never heard a progressive or atheist use it in a way that was anything other than sarcastic and vitriolic.
— Phil (@philthatremains) September 17, 2019
“Well now we’re REALLY going to pray for them!” offered journalist Mollie Hemingway. “Thanks, CNN, for the reminder.”
Well now we’re REALLY going to pray for them! Thanks, CNN, for the reminder. https://t.co/LMO0v5s7u1
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) September 17, 2019
“Please pray for @cnn,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz remarked on Twitter.
Please pray for @cnn https://t.co/fRHGxqzsM0
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 17, 2019
