Forgiveness and cooperation improve after prayer

An ongoing trend, gaining momentum since the late 1990s, has been the psychological study of the benefits of spiritual practices.  This is important because spiritual practices are an essential to so many people, with an estimated 5 billion of the planet's 7-billion plus people claiming some religious affiliation.

A recent study indicated that romantic partners and friends benefit when their partner/friend prays, specifically with better cooperation and a higher level of forgiveness.

The human race has achieved what it has by cooperation.  We are a profoundly pro-social species, despite a great deal of evidence to the contrary.

To read the article about the study on Science Daily, go here.

The article source is:

Nathaniel Lambert, Frank D. Fincham, Nathan C. Dewall, Richard Pond, Steven R. Beach. Shifting toward cooperative tendencies and forgiveness: How partner-focused prayer transforms motivation. Personal Relationships, 2013; 20 (1): 184 DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-6811.2012.01411.x

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