Praying in a Secularized Society: An Empirical Study of Praying Practices and Varieties

Social scientific studies from the secular Netherlands has pointed out that religious rituals such as praying are still widely present. This study examines the content of the praying practices of the Dutch and distinguishes varieties of prayer by analyzing answers to open-ended questions of a repres...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The international journal for the psychology of religion
Authors: Bänziger, Sarah (Author) ; Janssen, Jacques 1944-2018 (Author) ; Scheepers, Peer 1958- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 2008
In: The international journal for the psychology of religion
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Parallel Edition:Electronic
Description
Summary:Social scientific studies from the secular Netherlands has pointed out that religious rituals such as praying are still widely present. This study examines the content of the praying practices of the Dutch and distinguishes varieties of prayer by analyzing answers to open-ended questions of a representative Dutch survey (N = 1,008). It is concluded, first, that a majority of the Dutch prays. Second, four varieties of prayer are distinguished: petitionary, religious, meditative, and impulsive prayer. Comparing these varieties with types of prayer found in other empirical studies, it emerges that the petitionary and religious prayer are similar to classical prayers found in other studies from less secularized countries, whereas the meditative and impulsive prayers are fundamentally different from other prayer types and can be considered as examples of a praying practice in a secularized society.
ISSN:1532-7582
Contains:Enthalten in: The international journal for the psychology of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/10508610802117517