Science

Some folks are fond of pointing to some fragmentary scientific evidence that people heal better when someone prays for them. In case you havn't heard, it turns out that it just ain't so.

Prayers offered by strangers had no effect on the recovery of people who were undergoing heart surgery, a large and long-awaited study has found.
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Because it is the most scientifically rigorous investigation of whether prayer can heal illness, the study, begun almost a decade ago and involving more than 1,800 patients, has for years been the subject of speculation.
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At least 10 studies of the effects of prayer have been carried out in the last six years, with mixed results. The new study was intended to overcome flaws in the earlier investigations.

Surprise, surprise.

Update: The Wild Hunt pointedly perceives problems with the protocols of this production from a polytheistic perspective.