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84. Candy Gunther Brown, Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University

Release Date: 02/12/2024

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Show Notes:

Candy Gunther Brown, professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University and co-founder of the Global Medical Research Institute, discusses empirical research on prayer for healing, her own miracle story, and yoga in public schools. Candy has held her current position since 2006. She has been studying mostly Christianity in the United States and globally since 2006, however, her specific focus on healing practices has led to including world religions in her studies. She initially focused on the history of Christianity, but later realized that much of the growth of Christianity was in areas of Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity, where people pray for God to heal them when they are sick. This led her to explore questions about modern medicine's effects on praying for healing, particularly in contemporary practices.

Clinical Studies on the Healing Effects of Prayer

Candy has conducted field work in Mozambique and Brazil, working with medical doctors and researchers to develop clinical studies on the effects of prayer, and has published significant findings in peer reviewed medical journals. Dialogue with patients led Candy to explore the world of complementary and alternative medicine, which has become more mainstream medically than some of the prayer practices. Her research has taken on different emphases over the years, including being an expert witness in court cases over yoga in public education. One of the best courses she took at Harvard was constitutional law, which helped her consider constitutional issues involved with yoga and meditation in public schools from a legal perspective.

A Personal Experience with Healing through Prayer

Candy's personal journey also led to new academic and personal questions, as she met someone she met while at Harvard during graduate school and had new experiences that opened up new academic and personal questions. The Global Medical Research Institute (GMRI) was founded by Carol and her husband Josh, a brain scientist at Washington University in St. Louis. After Josh's untreatable terminal brain tumor was diagnosed, they began investigating the power of prayer for healing. They found that prayer can lead to significant improvements in various aspects of life, including hearing, vision, and emotional well-being. When Josh recovered, they decided this was an area that should be studied more consistently and in more depth, so they founded the GMRI.

Healing through Prayer and the Placebo Effect

Candy discusses the comparison of healing through prayer and the placebo effect, which is limited in its impact; it often sees a reduction in pain but does not provide significant changes in organic conditions. She shares the results of studies on healing through prayer, and how proximal intercessory prayer, or proximal intercession, has been shown to result in substantial improvements. For example, a subject in Mozambique was able to read fine print on an eye chart after five minutes of prayer. This is a much larger improvement than most placebo effects or related mind-body effects. Scientific research shows that people are convinced that they are healed through prayer to such a degree that it has been a major factor in the growth of Pentecostal and charismatic Christian movements worldwide. This belief has been a major factor in the growth of these movements, with approximately 635 million Pentecostals and charismatics globally, and around 2.4 billion Christians.

Research on Intercessory Prayer

Candy talks about research that took place in Mozambique where they were conducting studies on distant intercessory prayer. She discusses the difficulties they encountered and surprising results when conducting studies with people from different branches of christianity. In one study, researchers prospectively recruited every individual who was brought up in communities with little technological connection. They tested them with equipment and recorded all results before and after prayer, regardless of whether they reported improvements or not. The effect had to be large enough and common enough to find an actual statistical difference. The study found statistically significant improvements in those who received prayer. Cindy goes on to explain that prayer is a growing force in areas with limited access to medical care and basic necessities. She mentions research that was conducted in collaboration with 17 other scholars in Pentecostal movements worldwide. The findings suggest that healing and deliverance practices are the driving growth edge for these movements, as people in need of medical care and food security often lack the resources and support they typically receive. This finding underscores the importance of further research in this area.

A Personal View on Proximal Prayer Healing

Candy discusses the impact of proximal prayer on healing. She has been researching this topic for 20 years and has come across cases of fraud and falsification, however, she believes that these cases are less common than people think. She also mentions cases where people believe they got healed through prayer but also have other factors that caused them to recover, such as self-limiting conditions or mobility issues. She allows people to evaluate the data from the studies for themselves and acknowledges that some cases are hard to come up with a medical explanation for what took place, and she shares a few stories of healing, including a blind woman whose sight was restored. One studies she cites states that 73% of U.S. doctors believed that miracle healing had taken place.

Alternative Medical Practices and Constitutional Implications

One of Candy's research projects focused on alternative medical practices and constitutional implications. She was asked to evaluate the legal challenge over yoga in a public school district in San Diego, California. The yoga program was promoted by a Hindu guru who believed yoga was becoming one with God. However, parents, including Christian, Hindu, and atheist parents, were concerned about the teachings and wanted a secular education for their children. Candy's book explores the global cross fertilization of yoga programs, from India to the United States. Candy shares results from various studies on yoga or mindfulness practices.

Influential Harvard Professors and Courses

Candy shares her fond memories of her time as a professor, including being invited to a professor's house for dinner, attending a core curriculum class, and working with Owen Gingrich, a professor with a Mennonite background. These personal connections have been significant in her career, as she has been invited to his house for dinner parties and conducted research for him while traveling in the Philippines. Other memorable experiences include studying Latin 3, listening to Marjorie Garber's Shakespeare lessons, learning about Michelangelo, and writing a senior thesis. She also had significant experiences through Phillips Brooks House, particularly working with the refugee youth summer enrichment program (RISE) and the Harvard Radcliffe Christian fellowship.

Timestamps:

05:19 The power of prayer in healing with a neuroscientist and religion professor

10:44 The effectiveness of prayer for healing

16:07 Clinical trials and prayer with a focus on ecological validity

23:26 Healing and spiritual practices in Pentecostal movements

28:10 Healing and divine intervention through prayer

32:08 Yoga in public schools and belief in miracles

36:56 Secularization of yoga programs and their impact on mental health

Links:

Website: https://www.globalmri.org/

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Debating-Yoga-Mindfulness-Public-Schools/dp/1469648482

Article: huffingtonpost.com/candy-gunther-brown-phd