Article August 10, 2020 ISSUE

Prayer: A powerful resource now and anytime

Lyle Young

During the current pandemic, many people around the world have turned to prayer. Research by Jeanet Bentzen, an economist at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, found that internet searches on prayer skyrocketed during the period of time when COVID-19 began to rapidly proliferate around the globe.

After analyzing data from Google searches across 95 countries, she found, “In March 2020, the share of Google searches for prayer surged to the highest level ever recorded, surpassing all other major events that otherwise call for prayer, such as Christmas, Easter, and Ramadan” (“In crisis, we pray: Religiosity and the COVID-19 pandemic,” CEPR Press, May 20, 2020).

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Seeing God’s control in the details