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Newsweek April 10, 2006 issue - For millions of Americans, prayer is a contemplative and religious experience. But can it pass the test of science? Not necessarily—at least not if strangers pray for hospital patients. Last week researchers from six academic medical centers released results from a long-awaited study on so-called intercessory prayer and its effect on recovery after coronary-bypass surgery. The scientists divided 1,802 patients into three groups. Two groups were told they may or may not receive prayers. One did, the other didn't, but they both fared the same: half of all patients suffered complications after surgery. The most surprising result turned up in group three: patients who knew they were being prayed for did the worst, with 59 percent having problems. The most common complication: atrial fibrillation or heart flutter. The $2.4 million study, funded in large part by the John Templeton Foundation, had a number of caveats. Chief among them: no scientist can "control" for the spirituality of others—prayers offered by patients' friends or loved ones. Critics say religion shouldn't be submitted to the rigors of medicine in the first place. "It's a colossal waste of money and effort," says Richard Sloan, professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University. "Scientists should get out of the way and let patients engage in religious practices that comfort them." But Dean Marek, a chaplain at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and a coauthor of the study, sees a positive outcome: if the trial inspires talk about prayer, "I'm sure God will be really pleased." /—Claudia Kalb/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn