prayer healing

8/8/2019 Prayer Healing

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Prayer Healing:An Experiential Descriptionof Iranian Prayer Healing

FATEMEH JAVAHERI

ABSTRACT: Although mainstream allopatic medicine is the dominant model in Iran, many otherkinds of healing are currently also being used. This paper aims to describe some aspects of prayerhealing in Iran. This study has been carried out using participatory observation and in-depthinterviews with fourteen healers who worked in Tehran. Also one hundred and seventy patientswho referred to healing centers were interviewed through random sampling.The findings aresummarized in terms of a description of some personal characteristic of healers, the methods ofhealing, healerpatient communication patterns and, finally, some consequences of visiting aprayer healer. The findings indicate that, despite the increasing growth in scientific medicine,traditional healing is still alive. It is a cultural way of coping with health problems. This essay alsomakes several suggestion for future research.

KEY WORDS: prayer healing; healer; alternative medicine; scientific medicine.

Introduction

The effect of religion on health is one of the most interesting subjects studied

by medical, sociological and psychological scientists, and prayer healing is one

example of the healthreligion interrelationship. A study of this kind may help

to clarify some of the socio-cultural aspects of health issues. In spite of an

enduring tradition of prayer healing in Iran, little is known about the socio-

logical aspects of it and this paper is an attempt to describe various aspects of

prayer healing.

The findings are classified into four sections. First, healers are described

according to their demographic characteristics, training and multifunction-ality. Next, the healing methods, including various means of healing patients

are explained. Then, the healerpatient relationship is described in terms of

Fatemeh Javaheri is associate professor in Sociology at Tarbiat Moallem University (TeacherTraining University) in Tehran. Her basic interests are focused on Sociology of Medicine, Massmedia and Organization. The article on Prayer Healing: An Experiential Description of Iranian

Prayer Healing is a part of her dissertation which she did in 2002 under supervision of Dr.Framarz Rafipoor full Professor of National University of Iran. She is currently working onTranssexuality in Iran. Correspondence to Fatemeh Javaheri, [email protected]

Journal of Religion and Health, Vol. 45, No. 2, Summer 2006 ( 2006)

DOI: 10.1007/s10943-006-9018-9

171 2006 Blanton-Peale Institute


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the system and setting of the interaction and patients experiences. Finally

some possible consequences of visiting a healer are looked at.

The context of prayer healing

Prayer is the most common practice in all religious systems. Generally

prayer, understood as a human communication with divine and spiritual

entities, has been present in most of the religions in human history (Eliade,

1987, p. 489).

It has been noted that Prayer serves many functions including invocation,

adoration, thanksgiving, confession of repented sin and petition. Petition may

be both for ones own needs and, in prayer of intercession, for the needs of

others. It may be a request for material or spiritual benefit (Grant, 1995, p.521522).

There are many different types of prayer, including active or passive, cor-

porate or private, formal and prescribed or free and extemporaneous forms,

praying for oneself or intercessory, direct or indirect prayer.

Sometimes people pray to heal patients in a special manner, and this kind ofpractice is known as prayer healing. Prayer healing is classified as a spiritual

category of alternative or complementary medicine (Easthope, 1998, p. 272).

Spiritual healing encompasses the various kinds of faith healing, pastoral

counseling, energy therapy, reiki, transcendental meditation and prayer

healing.

Spirituality can be considered as distinct from religion. Religions havepropounded various doctrines and belief systems about the nature of God and

His relationship with humanity. Spirituality refers to the common experiencelying behind these and where it stands vis-a-vis humankind. It is an experi-

ence involving an awareness of and relationship with something that tran-

scends your personal self as well as the human order of things. Prayer healing

is the religious aspect of spiritual healing.

The literature of prayer healing in Iran shows that it did not originate from

Islam but had more ancient roots. The Zoroastrian faith as an ancient reli-

gion contributed a great deal to prayer healing in Iran. Zoroaster was known

as a healer and some people referred to him for healing. Also other Zoroastrianleaders used prayer as a means of healing (Najmabadi, 1962, p. 152).

However, prayer also has a prominent position in Muslim theology. Muslims

are encouraged to pray in different circumstances during their lives. TheQuran, the Muslim Holy Book, recommends that people pray to God and call

on Him for every need. Verse 60 of Chapter al-mumin says: And sayeth your

Lord: call ye unto Me, I will answer you.

In many occasions the Quran is referred to as a means of healing. Verse 82

of Chapter Bani-Israel reads: We sent down the Quran which is a source ofhealing and mercy unto the believers, but it addeth not to the perdition.

172 Journal of Religion and Health


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As a result of the importance of praying in Islamic belief, that is transferred

through the process of socialization, people are encouraged to pray.

Muslim daily prayers are a kind of formal prayer. All Muslims are obliged to

pray five times a day. But there are some types of prayer that are informal andprivate and may be resorted to in times of crisis. People pray in order to solve

problems in different ways. Sometimes, in the shiite tradition, praying to God

is performed by invoking the Islamic Holy leaders (the Prophet and the

Imams). For example, the shrine of the 8th Imam, which is located in the

Iranian city of Mashhad, is considered a sacred place. People bring their

patients from across the country and reside in the shrine for days and even

weeks while praying for their patients healing.

There is a special form of prayer for healing patients that I wish to describe

below. Some patients refer themselves to people who are considered as faith

healers. These faith healers like to visit patients at a given time and place andperscribe a special kind of prayer.

Theoretical implications

Since prayer is considered as a private expression of religiosity and a multi-

dimentional phenomenon taking different forms, the efficacy of prayer can not

be scientifically measured. There are different viewpoints concerning the

impact of prayer healing. Some believe that prayer healing has only a placebo

effect, while others see this healing as a form of quackery or sharlatanism. The

third group considers prayer healing permissable as long as it does not conflictwith allopathic cures. People can use prayer healing as a complement to

conventional medicine (Adib 2003; Polma 1994; McLennon 1997). The aim ofthis article is not a study of the efficacy of prayer, but rather some sociological

aspects of it.

Prayer healingas a cultural way of coping with health problemsis based

on an action system, with at least two actors who communicate with each

other. The patient is a person who suffers from a mental or physical disease

and seeks to be healed. Faith healers are people who use the power of sug-

gestion, prayer, and faith in God to promote healing (Cockerham, 1989,

p. 141).In order to understand prayer healing better, it is necessary to give a

description of the healers, the methods of healing, the healerpatient rela-

tionship and, finally, some possible consequences of visiting healers.

Parsonss model can serve well for describing healerpatient interactions.

Parsons indicated that the expected behavior of people in the social system is

structured by particular orientation. This orientation, which varies from one

status to another, is referred to as Pattern Variables and the model can be

used as a comparative framework for understanding how the holder of statusis expected to interact with others. Parsons introduced five pattern variables

Fatemeh Javaheri 173


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and set them up as five dichotomous or twofold role definition choices in

interaction patterns (Kurtz & Chalfont, 1991, p. 116).

Also, there is a special framework in which prayer healing is supposed to

take place, and healerpatient activities are governed by a set of rules.Furthermore, there is a reproduction system that allows prayer healing to

continue during the period in question. Some of these techniques are gener-

ated by a set of rules and some of them are located in the healers own human

capital.

The fourth issue is whether going to prayer healers would result in deeper

trust in the healer and in future referrals. Homans believes that men are

likely to take actions that they perceive are, in the circumstances, likely to

achieve rewarding results (Ritzer, 1988, p. 263).

According to Homanss description, if the patients are satisfied with the

results it will be expected that they are not only encouraged to visit the healermore frequently, but it is also possible that this relationship will go beyond the

healing domain. More trust is accumulated following future satisfactory visits,

and the patients give up to the healers control over some aspects of their lives.

Based on Colmans point of view, people sometimes give up their right of

control over others because they believe that they are better off following theother relationship. Social and personal disorganization, being under threat or

promise and the special qualities of a charismatic person are conditions which

are seen to be effective in leading to the transfer of the right of control. It is

hypothesized in this study that, if patients are to expand their trust in and

relationship with the healer, it will imply that the patients are giving over

their right of control to the healers.Max Weber also emphasizes the personal qualities of the charismatic person

as necessary in this visiting of the right of control. Events in life can not

simply be accepted but should be prevented, alleviated and controlled. Thoseable to undertake such activities and to satisfy these particular needs may be

seen to be endowed with a special gift, which Max Weber (1978) would argue

legitimizes their power. This he calls charisma: a certain quality of an indi-

vidual by virtue of which he is considered extraordinary and treated as en-

dowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional

powers or qualities (Scambler, 1987, p. 204).

The research method

This report, as a qualitative study, describes certain aspects of healing. The

data was gathered from two sources. The first unit of research is the healers

who work in Tehran and the second is the patients who refer themselves to

healers.

In Iran, prayer healing is not conducted under the supervision of any formalinstitution. Since there is no clear information regarding healers names,



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addresses and schedules, the total number of healers is unknown. This situ-

ation limits the use of a probabilistic sampling method. Since there is no

formal listing of the prayer healers, this research was carried out on the basis

of information from people who know such healers. After one month ofsearching, fourteen healers who were frequently mentioned by people were

found. The research took more than 100 hours of field work over a 3-month

period using participatory observation techniques and in-depth interviews

with healers. Patients impressions and experiences also have an important

role to play in understanding prayer healing. For this reason, one hundred

and seventy patients who referred themselves to healing centers were chosen

and interviewed through random sampling.

But, as was the case with healers, there were some barriers in finding pa-

tients randomly. Since some patients were suffering from serious psycholog-

ical or physical conditions, some were children (and thus too young to beinterviewed) and some came from villages and worried about being able to go

back soon, not all of the patients were equally able to talk. Accordingly, the

researcher had to see the patients one by one and the interviews were con-

ducted only if the subjects gave their acceptence.

Finally, 105 females and 65 males were interviewed. Thus the base of bothsamplings was inevitability nonprobablistic. The nonprobability sampling

method is used whenever the researcher has no desire to generalize the

finding beyond the sample (Bailey, 1982, p. 97).

Findings

As has already been mentioned, the findings are described in terms of thehealers, the methods of healing and healerpatient relationships.

Description of healers

Healers demographic characteristics

As a starting point, the healers characteristics may help to describe prayer

healing. Two of the healers were female and all the others were male, of whomthree were clergy. The average age of the healer was 56 years old, the youn-

gest being 40 and the oldest 75. They had an average of 18 years experience in

this field. Five of healers had been working in healing for more than 20 years.

Two of them had chosen healing as their jobs, while the rest had other pro-

fessions.

Ten of the healers were sayyed i.e. one who claims descent from the

Prophet Muhammad. This religious label brings healers extra respect as trueand faithful people whose prayers will be accepted by God. Both the clergy and

laity are increasingly benefiting from practicing healing. To be male, to be



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skilled and to have a religious label may be influential in gaining patients

trust.

Healerss training processHow the healers acquired their skill is another important issue for under-standing prayer healing. There are numerous ways in which this can happen.

Some of them had relatives, such as father or grandfather, who had already

been a healer.

Some had learned from a spiritual director and at the end of their learning

period were given permission to act as healers.

Some stated that they had an inner intuition.

Some went through certain soul purification practices to prepare them-

selves for the ability.

The study of the healers backgrounds show that some followed only oneroute while others had followed more than one route simultaneously to learn

this ability.

Healers roles

Healers perform various roles at the same time. First of all they heal patients

through prayer, but their role is not limited to healing. Sometimes, for

example, people go to healers who act as problem solvers. Their function is to

give advice and act as social workers to people who ask for it. While doctors

generally perform the role of treatment, it is possible that the multifunctionalrole of healers makes them more reliable for their clients.

The healing method

It is important to recognize an essential distinction between healing and

curing. A cure is an externally applied medical intervention that removes all

evidences of the diagnosed disease. Healing is an internal process of recovery

that takes place on the physical, emotional, mental or spiritual level and re-

sults in the persons having a sense of being complete in balance or harmonywith self and surroundings (Chez & Jonas, 1997, p. 1157).

Thus, the doctor is focused on curing whereas the healer is focused on

healing. A healer uses various tools to reach this goal. Patients go to the

healer, in turn, according to a previous appointment. Some healers ask pa-

tients to explain their problems, but in some cases the healer asks patients not

to talk at all. They just need to consider their problem internally and then the

healer offers appropriate prayer. Generally speaking, prayer healing takes

place in the various following ways.



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The healer prays and blows the prayer out to the patient.

The healer gives a written prayer that the patient has to read or keep with

him or her at all time.

The healer prays and blows the prayer out onto a certain material such assugar or water and the patient has to eat it.

The healer moves his/her hand on or over the patients head and shoulder

while praying. It seems that it is as if they are providing positive energy or

drawing out negative energy.

Some healers prescribe herbal drugs and special diets.

Some of them ask for some help from supernatural creatures such as an

angel or a genie.

It is significant that, just like a medication that must be taken at a partic-

ular time and at a specific dose, the prayer needs to be carried out following aparticular prescription offered by the healer.

The other issue which needs to be mentioned is the payment system. There

are four kinds of payment:

Some healers accept no kind of visitation fee or reward. Some of them accept no money but only gifts.

Some accept whatever amount of money the patient wishes to pray.

Some have a special rate but show flexibility towards their patients

economic limitations.

The variable system of payment in prayer contrasts directly with the fixedpayment system of doctors. The healer payment system is more flexible and

allows patients to choose the one that is most compatible with their own

financial situation.

Healer patient relationship

The healerpatient relationship will be discussed in relation to three aspects:

the system of interaction, the setting of the interaction and patients experi-

ences.

The system of interaction

The healerpatient interaction takes place in different ways. Some healers do

not contact patients directly but rather deal with them by letter.

Further, there are healing methods carried out by proxy. In this method, an

individual will sit in for another person who is not able physically to be

present there.



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Most healers, however, meet patients directly. According to Parsonss

model, the healerpatient relationship can be analysed in terms of five

dichotomous patterns of interaction as follows.

Affectivityaffective neutrality: In general the interaction pattern of healersis based on affective neutrality such as that of a doctor. But sometimes the

patients orientation toward the healer is based on affectivity. If patients are

affected by the healers personality, they experience emotional changes such

as weeping, happiness or hope.

Specificitydiffuseness: Like doctors, healers communicate with patients in

terms of a functionally specific context, i.e. one that is restricted only to

information about the disease. But when healers perform different roles such

as problem-solving and counseling, their relationship extends to other spheres

of the patients life.

Self-collectivity orientation: Healers such as doctors are supposed to be moreinterested in the welfare of their patients than in their own personal gain. But

the range of collectivity is different. In comparison with those who ask for a

consultation fee, those healers who work free have more collectivism and an

asymmetrical orientation. This is because they have no expectation of

receiving a reward.Universalism-particularism: It seems that healers act upon a universalist

approach because they react to all people as if they are patients.

Ascription-achievement: A person can become a doctor only through special

education and training. Therefore, a doctor interacts with patients in terms of

his/her achieved status. Their authority results from their knowledge

of medical science. In contrast, a person can not become a healer only in termsof special training, but the inner abilities, heritage factor and teachers

permission are essential factors for occupying the status of healer. Indeed the

healers interaction with his/her patients is based on the status of ascriptionand achievement. Also healers authority comes from their personal charac-

teristics and peoples attitude toward their being true believers in God.

The healerpatient relationship can also be analysed in terms of means of

control. Healers and doctors work under different control systems. Although

healing activities are not forbidden, healers are not permitted to use any kind

of advertising. Healing is not based on an established or any other professional

institution. Therefore, if recipients have any problem with healers, they haveto resort to the police. In contrast, doctors practice under the control of pro-

fessional groups such as medical associations or councils.

Setting of interaction

Healing takes place in public, semi public and private places. For example,

patients can submit their written problems and receive answers while they

are waiting outside on the street. Religious centers such as mosques are both

semi public and closed places. Some healers allocate a part of their houses to

healing tasks within their own private space. Regarding these three different



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settings, it seems that religious places are considered as a sacred environment

and that private places have an intimate atmosphere for clients. In these

settings there are some pictures on the walls that have a religious themes and

include verses from the Quran, an image of a religious figure or the sayings ofreligious leader. In contrast to that of a healer, a doctors office is regarded

more as a secular place.

Reproduction system

Prayer healingas an action systemis based on a reproduction system that

makes it endure over time. According to Iranian law, every kind of healing is

considered an intervention in medical matters. For this reason, formal

advertising for prayer healing is forbidden, but there are several informal

means of advertising.

Some healers have no way to advertise, but happy clients are their

voluntary advertisements. Some healers have a business cards that are distributed.

One healer has a listing of successful clients, including their names and

telephone numbers, that is available to other potential patients.

Another healer has published a book containing his fathers biography that

is related to prayer healing.

A film has been produced based on another healers biography and this has

been a great motivation for people who are in search of a shelter.

Patients experiences

Patients interpretations can be useful in gaining a better understanding of

prayer healing. During interaction with the healer, patients have some special

experiences. Patients experiences are described in terms of their emotional

feelings and their interpretations. When they are asked about the emotional

feelings during the visit, they refer to experiences such as hope, happiness,lightness, tranquility, weeping and an unidentifiable feeling. How the visitors

interpret their feelings is the next question. Their responses to this question

include the sense of being in a sacred place, inner evolution or absorption in

the charismatic personality of the healer. Although most patients are opti-

mistic about the healers chance of success, there are some patients who aredoubtful. The results indicate that, in comparison with mainstream medicine,

prayer healing is associated with desirable, spiritual experiences for people.

This may be a significant factor in directing people towards prayer healing.

Possible consequences

In order to clarify some possible outcomes of going to healers, four indicators

were considered. According to the research preposition, the creation of trust



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and a relationship between the patient and the healer can result in various

outcomes. This additional relationship takes forms such as returning and

coming again for treatment purposes, for religious reasons, for problems other

than disease and, finally, refering others to the same healer. Further visitstake place for treatment purposes.

To investigate these consequences scientifically, the four questions were

asked of patients listed in Table 1.

Based on the data given in Table 1, the research preposition, is confirmed.

The clients satisfaction results in trust in the healer and promotes the pa-

tients relationship with the healer. It is not just the client who benefits from

this relationship, but also the healer who is provided with social capital. That

is the secret that lies beneath the enduring tradition of prayer healing in Iran.

Discussion and conclusion

Prayer healing works within a closed system in Iran. Healers rarely tend to

transfer their skills and experiences to others, since they like to do their workin secret. Healers prefer to work within a traditional framework. They dont

benefit from any modern techniques such as special associations, journals,

home pages or web sites. A common theme of various categories of prayer

healing is an appeal to God to change a persons physical or psychological

condition for the better.

In contrast with mainstream medicine, which is based on secularity,objectivity and rationality, prayer healing is based on spirituality and flexi-

bility toward patients that gives them a feeling of support (Table 2).

TABLE 1

Some Possibles Outcomes of Visiting a Prayer Healer

Low Average High Number

How likely is it that you will comeagain for treatment purposes?

4/2 5/3 90/5 168

How likely is it that you will come

again for religious reasons?

12/0 12/8 74/2 140

How likely is it possible that you

will come again for a problem

other than disease?

8/2 14/7 77/1 170

How likely is it that you will refer

others to this healer?

2/4 13/0 84/6 169



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As noted by, also western medicine tends to adhere to the positive view of

science reflected in the Cartesian mindbody dualism. Positive medical sci-

ence focuses its study on that part of individual that can be objectively ob-

servedthe bodywhich it tends to view as a machine acted upon by

external, mechanical forces as it is subjected to the mechanistic, random laws

of an impartial nature (McKee, 1988, p. 776).

As regards religious healing, Foskett and Jacobs have stated that the

philosophy behind religious healing is based on the whole person as an indi-

vidual, as well as part of a family and social unit; and as a whole person, body,

mind, and spirit but with particular reference to the persons psychological,

ethical, and theological frames of reference (Foskett & Jacobs, 1997, p. 319).Belief in the efficacy of faith healing is not limited to Muslims. The majority

of Americans also believe in the healing power of prayer. A recent Time/CNN

poll found that 82% of American believe that prayer can cure serious illness.

Seventy-three percent of Americans in that poll also believe that praying forothers can cure illness and 64% want their physicians to pray with

them(Ameling, 2000, p. 41).

Although it is not possible to answer the question as to whether or not

religion can cure our troubles, peoples reference to prayer healing indicates

an important reality. Despite the increasing dominance of scientific medicine,

traditional healing is still alive. It is a cultural way of coping with healthproblems. Religion has exercised more direct control of bodies by itself pro-

mulgating moral norms controlling sexuality, reproduction, eating, drinking,

entertainments, modesty, cleanliness and purity (McGuire, 1966, p. 105).

This reality shows that modern and traditional phenomena exist parallel to

each other. As Ronald Ingelhart stated, economic development is associated

with pervasive, and to some extent predictable cultural changes. Empirical

evidence from 65 societies indicates that values can and do change, but also

that they continue to reflect a societys cultural heritage (Ingelhart, 2000,

p. 49). What lies behind the cause of peoples attitude toward religious healing,

TABLE 2

Contrast Between Healers and Doctors

Healers Doctors

Domain of work Various Problem Treatment

Base of action Value oriented Instrumental oriented

Setting Sacred Secular

Base of authority Healer personality Medical knowledge

Control agency Nonprofessional Professional

Approach to patient Holism Particularism

Training process Traditional medicine Scientific medicine



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such as prayer healing, and its consequences is a considerable point for social

and medical scientists.

There are a few comparative studies about prayer healing in Christianity,

Judaism, Islam or other religious groups to show the similarities and differ-ences of religious healing in various arena(Foskett & Jacobs, 1997, p. 327).

Such studies show that religion as well as medicine has its own influence on

peoples search for health and the regulation of the body.

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