Introduction to the Special Issue “Christian Prayer: Social Sciences Perspective”

Prayer, as a natural and fundamental essence of Christian life, is realized in the space of a dialog between man and God. While fundamentally a religious act, it is grounded in a complex interplay of psychological, social, and even economic factors (e.g., Contribution 1; Contribution 5; Contribution 6; Contribution 7). In this perspective, prayer ceases to be merely a confessional duty, it becomes a deeply personal attitude, a conversation rooted in faith in the presence of a personal God. Christian prayer permeates deep structures of life, giving it a distinct meaning and activating cognitive, emotional, volitional, and behavioral processes (Kulpaczyński 2000; Walesa 2005). It emerges as a multi-dimensional process supporting well-being and personality development.

Each type of prayer addresses different human needs: from adoration, which expresses joy in God’s greatness, through thanksgiving, the gratitude for gifts received, to petition, that is focused on coping with difficulties and satisfying needs (Walesa 2005; Tatala and Pękala 2024). Regardless of the form, be it spontaneous individual practice or formalized liturgy, prayer fosters the inner coherence of a person and nurtures relationships that extend the realm of the Sacred, directly affecting one’s social environment.

As identified in the subject literature (Krok 2014; Gurba et al. 2015; Froese and Jones 2021; Zalewska-Meler 2025), prayer can fulfill the following purposes:

• Be a tool for emotional and cognitive self-regulation, thereby fostering internal integration and contributing to axiological redefinition, i.e., the conscious ordering of a hierarchy of values in the face of external chaos.
• Be a spiritual adaptive strategy which can serve as the foundation for psychological resilience, helping individuals constructively cope with trauma and experienced stressors.
• Be a process for constructing and stabilizing identity at the individual and social levels. It can provide a sense of subjective continuity of the “Self” by facilitating a dialog with the Transcendent, allowing individuals to build a personal life narrative. Simultaneously, it may help shape group identity by fostering a strong sense of belonging within the community of believers (Stepulak 2003; Walesa 2005; Contribution 14).

It should be emphasized that the contemporary phenomenon of prayer is shaped by dynamic socio-technological transformations, necessitating a redefinition of traditional forms of piety and their place in the social structure. Additionally, a growing secularization of public spaces alters perceptions of sacred monuments, which are no longer viewed solely for their liturgical functions, as noted by Contribution 8.

Alongside developments in cultural and architectural spheres, the practice of prayer is also being challenged by the rapid expansion of modern technologies. This raises questions about the boundaries between prayer and contemporary digital tools, which are becoming new forms of mediation for religious practices (Contribution 2).

The reprint, comprising 13 chapters, serves as an interdisciplinary platform for showcasing the latest research findings and addresses the central research problem of the social dimension of prayer. By analyzing the unique nature and functions of prayer, the authors examine its impact on quality of life as well as its role within public, cultural, and economic contexts.

The reprint begins with the article by Henryk Jarosiewicz and Jagoda Stompór-Świderska: “Religiousness in the Light of Kazimierz Twardowski’s Concept of Actions and Products” (2024). The authors review religiosity and prayer through the framework of actions and products developed by Kazimierz Twardowski, a distinguished Polish philosopher, psychologist, and logician. Within this framework, both actions and products are understood as mental phenomena. The article presents a psychological model of the personal subject and depicts a mechanism in which religiosity is a product of a person’s actions. Not only does this approach explain the essence of morality, how a human-being becomes good, it also describes how one becomes a participant in the eternal life. Prayer, portrayed as a relational and communal process, aids in achieving this goal. By utilizing Twardowski’s conceptual apparatus, the authors describe prayer not merely as an internal experience but as a concrete activity directed toward the Sacrum. This action generates lasting products in the spiritual and social spheres, including the shaping of moral identity and moral self-improvement. In this way, prayer becomes a tool for personal formation in relation to the Sacrum and to others.

The subsequent section of the Special Issue shifts its focus to empirical analyses on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in prayer practices, the validation of the Prayer Importance Scale, the impact of prayer on human development through choral singing, and, finally, the role of prayer in consumption.

A significant complement to modern perspectives on prayer is the study of attitudes toward AI as a means to support prayer practices. In “Artificial Intelligence as a Tool Supporting Prayer Practices”, Contribution 2 examine the attitudes of Poles toward the use of AI in Christian religious practices, focusing specifically on individual prayer. Their research was conducted via a diagnostic survey on a nationwide sample of 1018 adult respondents. Empirical data revealed that a higher frequency of prayer and a strong religious commitment were associated with more skeptical and conservative views on AI tools in the religious context. Conversely, younger generations showed greater openness to technological support in their relationship with God. Furthermore, the place of residence (urban vs. rural) was found to influence perspectives on the digitalization of prayer practices. Findings also revealed a phenomenon of sustained attachment towards the AI tools: most users planned to continue using AI-based religious applications, with forecasts indicating a gradual adoption by new target groups. The authors emphasize that the growing role of technology in spiritual life calls for a profound reflection on the ethical and theological boundaries of applying AI to the human–God relationship.

In the third chapter “Measurement Invariance of Prayer Importance Scale: Religiosity, Gender, Age”, Contribution 13 present the next phase of their work on the validation of the Prayer Importance Scale (PIS; Tatala and Wojtasiński 2021). The authors subjected PIS to a psychometric evaluation of measurement invariance across a sample of 566 respondents. The results demonstrate that the scale measures the subjective importance of prayer in a consistent manner, regardless of gender, age, or level of religiosity, which significantly enhances its value as a robust tool for studying prayer.

The reprint’s research perspective is further expanded by the chapter “Flourishing through Prayer by Singing in a Liturgical Choir” authored by Contribution 9, who assess the impact of prayer performed through choral singing on human development. They conducted 16 in-depth interviews with members of 14 choirs, accounting for the respondents’ gender and family status. The analyses of the empirical data lead to the identification of five main categories and four subcategories, confirming the assumptions of the adopted theoretical model. The research results indicated that four engagement mechanisms—embeddedness, immersion, socialization, and reflectiveness—produced two types of benefits: those associated with singing in any choir and those specifically related to singing in the liturgical choir dedicated to glorifying God. It was discovered that choral singing positively influences performers’ health and well-being while fostering the development and enhancement of their competencies and skills. These benefits were argued to stem directly from the communal nature of the liturgical choir, which imparts a new value to music by distancing it from the pursuit of personal ambitions. Additionally, a connection between prayer and spiritual well-being was discovered, which is significantly linked to the prayerful role of singing, the harmonious alignment of one’s actions with personal values, and the active pursuit of happiness and flourishing (eudaimonia). It was concluded that membership in a choir fosters deeper involvement in Church life and intensifies the relationship with the Sacrum through meditation on biblical texts and a more profound experience of the liturgy. These benefits are directly tied to the liturgical nature of choirs and the fulfillment of the chorister’s vocation, namely prayer through song.

The interdisciplinary character of the reprint is enriched by the chapter from Katarzyna Jabłońska-Karczmarczyk: “Towards Socially Responsible Consumption: Assessing the Role of Prayer in Consumption” (2024). The author evaluates prayer from the perspective of economics and business ethics, examining the attitudes of the socially responsible consumer. The study centers on a group of young consumers whose growing purchasing power significantly shapes contemporary market trends. It examines the relationship between prayer practices and consumer choices motivated by a concern for social welfare. Drawing on the results of research conducted via an online survey, the author demonstrates that prayer extends beyond being a purely internal religious act and translates into concrete pro-social behaviors in the area of consumption. The findings also identify specific areas of responsible consumption where prayer plays a significant role in the choices made by young people, promoting attitudes of ethical engagement in the marketplace.

In the chapter concluding the empirical section of the Special Issue, “‘Violent Times Call for Violent Prayers’: ‘Divine Violence’ during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Nigeria”, Contribution 4 explores African religiosity from the perspective of prayer practices during traumatic situations. The author examines the concept of “violent prayer” within the Nigerian Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFMM) movement, investigating its dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic. This form of prayer is found to transcend the boundaries of individual communication with the Sacrum, becoming a vital communal ritual that unites believers in the face of external threats. The mechanism of “violent prayer” emerges as a specific form of spiritual warfare, aimed at confronting antagonistic metaphysical forces that followers identify as the spiritual source of global crises and human suffering. This form of prayer is deeply rooted in African Pentecostalism, which interprets crises such as the pandemic as spiritual battles against malevolent forces or spirits. A crucial element of this analysis is the concept of “divine violence”, understood not as an act of destruction, but as a sovereign and just act of God, essential for restoring disrupted order during a time of existential uncertainty. In-depth interviews and participant observation presented in this article offer a reliable account of motivations and dynamics of those engaged in this expressive form of prayer. The findings stem from ethnographic research on Nigerian Pentecostalism conducted since 2021, situating “violent prayer” within a broader historical and cultural context, linking it to Africa’s colonial past and ongoing socio-political struggles, where both physical and spiritual violence have served as tools for liberation.

The two subsequent chapters highlight the importance of religion and prayer in the literary studies of two areas: pro-social behavior and the 20th-century Russian Orthodox culture.

Contribution 11 review the works of Felix Timmermans to explore a potential connection between prayer and pro-social attitudes. Their analysis presented in “The Prosociality of Prayer in the Literary Fiction of Felix Timmermans” leads to a compelling conclusion that the relationship between prayer and pro-social behavior is complex and does not provide a conclusive answer. While evidence suggests that there is a relationship between prayer and pro-social behaviors of the characters inhabiting Timmermans’ fictional worlds, this holds true only in certain (and certainly not all) situations. The positive impact of prayer is confined to certain characters who experience internal transformation through prayer, enabling them to fulfill specific roles within society. This article aims to foster a productive dialog between social sciences and literary studies, both of which may share a common interest in exploring prayer as a universal religious phenomenon.

Contribution 12 investigates literary representations of prayer in the works of two authors from the first wave of the Russian emigration in “Prayer Motifs and National Consciousness in Changing Conditions of Reception: As Exemplified by the Works of Ivan Shmelev and Boris Zaitsev”. Russian literary–historical discourse considers these texts classical masterpieces of 20th-century Russian Orthodox culture, as they illustrate the historical spirituality of pre-revolutionary Russia. The analysis of prayer imagery shows the conventions used by both writers as well as the circumstances in which the studied novels were written. In the context of emigration, prayer was treated as a guarantor for preserving national identity, which was under severe threat at that time. Literature that mythologized the concept of “Holy Rus” was aimed at preserving Russian cultural continuity within the émigré community, amid the homeland’s total rejection of traditional values. After the fall of the Soviet Union, these works were rediscovered in both Russia and worldwide, along with the broader corpus of the restored émigré literature, revealing a richness of ideas and poetics that sharply contrasted with the thematically stagnant socialist realist literature.

Subsequent chapters explore interactions between prayer and the socio-economic sphere, addressing topics such as the management, financing and multifunctional use of sacred sites and the institutional–economic framework of the Catholic Church’s operations in Germany.

Contribution 8 investigate the system of financing sacred monuments in Poland. In “Public Funds as a Source of Financing Revalorization of Sacral Historical Monuments: The Example of Poland”, the authors emphasize the dual nature of these sites: on the one hand, they serve as spaces for religious and prayer practices; on the other, they are cultural assets of vital importance that help shape national identity. Further, it is posited that property owners and public authorities share the responsibility to protect and maintain the sacred heritage for future generations, justifying the use of public funds to finance their restoration. Empirical data regarding the scale of support and funding sources for these sites is also discussed, highlighting the specific characteristics of sacred monuments, and detailing their multi-dimensional social, cultural, and religious functions as defined by Polish legislation.

The discussion of the topic is complemented by Janina Beata Kotlińska’s paper: “Historical Sacral Objects as Places of Prayer—But Not Only: Towards Multifunctionality” (2024). In this article, Kotlińska examines the challenges posed by the rising maintenance costs of sacred historical buildings amid a progressive decline in the number of faithful and visitors, alongside an increase in social awareness of the untapped potential of these sites. Two solutions are proposed: broadening and diversifying the use of sacred spaces as well as leveraging the added value these buildings bring to local communities.

This section is concluded by the article of Anna Mizak and Mariusz Sokołek, titled “Stability of the Roman Catholic Church Financing System Based on Germany” (2024), which explores the institutional and economic foundations of the Catholic Church’s operations, using the example of the Catholic Church in Germany. It underscores the critical importance of establishing a stable financial system that enables the Church to fulfill its mission amid demographic and socio-cultural changes. The authors provide a detailed presentation of the primary sources of income and allocation of financial resources, arguing that churches have long served as vital centers of psychological, existential, and social support within communities, fulfilling social and cultural roles beyond their religious functions. The paper makes a significant contribution to the discussion on the State-Church relations that concerns the public funding of religious communities, viewed through the prism of their multifaceted functions.

Further reflections on the existential and systemic significance of prayer presented in this reprint demonstrate how internal coherence and spiritual values translate into theoretical and practical foundations of economics.

Contribution 1 analyze the influence of scholastic thinkers from the School of Salamanca on the development of free-market economics, which are sometimes treated as synonymous with economic liberalism. Their heuristic narrative presented in “The Entrepreneur’s Prayer and the Scholastic Inspirations of Free-Market Economics” ranges from the biblical protection of the poor, aptly exemplified in the words of Psalm 86, to a prayer for generosity, mistakenly attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola.

From the perspective of the Anglo-Saxon classical school, which defines a socio-economic order supporting the free-market ideals, there is a recognized need for supplementary assumptions beyond formal legal safeguards to effectively shape a free-market mechanism for exchanging goods and services. These assumptions are identified in three institutionally recognized dimensions: the freedom to choose the parties participating in exchange; the reliance of productive efficiency on the division of labor; and the private ownership of the means of production and goods acquired through exchange. Viewed as the foundations of a just social order, these factors are reflected in the teachings of Spanish scholastics, who were inspired by the Scripture and the Church’s tradition of saints.

This reflection predates Adam Smith’s widely recognized contribution, considered as the beginning of modern economics, by over two hundred years. A rigorous scholastic analysis of the natural law thus initiates doctrinal inquiry, fostering the development of free-market theories and socio-economic doctrines. This framework, presented through a heuristic interplay of historically conditioned contexts and the evolving nature of humanity’s prayerful relationship with God, provides inspiring insights and reinforces Christianity’s intellectual heritage as a foundation for a socio-economic order rooted in socially responsible entrepreneurship.

The discussion on economic ethics is concluded in the chapter by Anna Horodecka and Andrzej J. Żuk titled “The Common Good According to Great Men of Prayer and Economists: Comparisons, Connections, and Inspirations for Economics” (2023) where economic interpretations of the common good are juxtaposed with perspectives from Church authorities, such as St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Jacques Maritain, Popes John XXIII, John Paul II, and Francis.

The primary aim of this analysis is to explore potential avenues for developing economic theories of the common good through the lens of the Catholic social teaching. It discusses the prevailing one-dimensional and relativistic approaches within the current economic frameworks and highlights the promises of the multi-dimensional, universal perspectives rooted in Catholic social principles. It also highlights the contributions of “great men of prayer” as inspirations for a deeper understanding of the common good in economics.

The works collated in this Special Issue share a common goal: to understand the dynamics through which religious practices, particularly prayer, shape individual experiences, evolve in response to technological and cultural challenges, and influence socio-economic processes. We hope this publication sparks meaningful dialog on the phenomenon of prayer, inspiring researchers and practitioners alike to explore its deeper significance in today’s contemporary world.