61 percent of Americans pray

Majority of Americans pray and those that do, pray for nearly 20 minutes a day, according to a new survey.

The poll was conducted by City Square Associates for Skylight, a non-profit organisation that promotes spiritual wellness. Approximately 1,700 people were interviewed.

Findings of the survey were released by the Radiant Foundation on Thursday, the National Day of Prayer.

The poll found that 61 percent of Americans pray, with 50 percent of those who pray doing so around sunrise and 55 percent around bedtime.

A distinct majority of those who pray (87%) said they’d received an answer to their prayers in the past 12 months.

The top reasons cited for prayer were for a loved one in crisis (76%) or when someone else was sick (71%).

Additionally, 71% of praying Americans also said that prayer is not accurately reflected in pop culture and media.

And why are so many Americans praying? Common responses from the Skylight survey included connecting with God, feeling less anxious or depressed, finding solutions to problems, feeling more in control of life, feeling like a better version of themselves, and healing from trauma.

In April 1952, as US soldiers were fighting in Korea, President Harry S. Truman signed a Congressional resolution calling for an annual National Day of Prayer, inviting the public to gather in houses of worship to pray for world peace. Since 1988, the first Thursday in May has been designated as the National Day of Prayer in the United States.

US adults today – pray an average of two times a day, the poll results showed.

More than eight in 10 (81 percent) of Americans who pray do so in their bedroom, 61 percent in their car, 39 percent pray at work, 43 percent pray in the nature and an 11 percent pray in the gym. Only 46 percent pray in a place of worship.

Americans who pray do so for an average of 18 minutes a day. Meanwhile, 53 percent of those who pray say they increased the frequency of their prayers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Despite recent statistics that suggest Americans are becoming less religiously affiliated, prayer appears to be a constant practice in people’s lives, with Americans spending 3.6 billion minutes each day praying,” the news release said.

A total of 85 percent of Americans perform “some kind of spiritual practice to connect with a higher power,” such as prayer, meditation and spiritually based yoga.

Nearly eight in 10 Americans consider themselves to be religious or spiritual, according to the survey.

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