Political orientation and the psychology of christian prayer: How conservatives and liberals pray

The authors of this study examined relations between self-reported political orientation and the content of prayer narratives in a sample of 128 midlife North American Christians. Politically liberal Christians were more likely than politically conservative Christians to emphasize provision in prayer, asking God to provide resources for people and to fulfill human needs. Conservatives, however, were no more likely than liberals to emphasize protection in prayer, contrary to prediction. Nonetheless, politically conservative Christians tended to emphasize praise and thanksgiving in their prayers and tended to ask God for both guidance and forgiveness to a greater extent than did politically liberal Christians. The results are discussed in terms of recent research and theory on ideological scripts, life narratives, and the intersection of religion and politics in human lives.