Christian Prayer: Social Sciences Perspective
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 20816
Special Issue Editors
Interests: development of religiosity; development of religious feelings; religious symbol; psychology of prayer
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Prayer occupies a central place in the lives of Christians as it is realized through a relation towards God. Although by its nature it is a religious activity, it has important psychological, pedagogical, sociological and economic aspects, to name a few.
Christian prayer is a subjective and personal, autonomous and authentic, reflexive and transcending ability to enter into a dialogue with God. It can be characterized by: (1) nature, essence and specificity of prayer, (2) types and forms of prayer, (3) periods of prayer development, (4) factors shaping the process of prayer, and (5) functions of prayer.
Emphasizing the specificity of Christian prayer, it is necessary to consider not only its objective, denotational and purely informational meaning, but also its associative, personal-subjective and social-relational-connotational meaning.
Prayer is expressed through various types and forms. Among the most common is prayer of request, individual and communal prayer. Elements of doubt are also included in prayer dialogue.
In the course of ontogenesis, different periods of prayer development are distinguished. Although at each of them prayer takes a slightly different form, the same manifestations can occur in several adjacent or even more distant developmental periods. In addition, features of more mature religiosity may temporarily or even permanently disappear. Development of prayer does not occur abruptly, moving suddenly from one form to another, the process is gradual and smooth. It may also happen that one form of prayer persists, with the simultaneous development of new ones.
When analyzing the determinants of prayer, attention is paid to circumstances that account for its occurrence, direction and maintenance. Educational and teaching activities of Christian families, which are passed down from past generations, play a special role.
Christian prayer penetrates the structure and path of human life from within, giving it an existential meaning. It is present in various areas of human functioning, such as business, production and law, relations with others, education and development, and even takes on a self-therapeutic function. Prayer realizes and expresses greater needs, participates in the formation and maintenance of essential life goals, as well as dealing with difficult situations, through which it can become a program of Christian life. It fosters the formation of a higher quality of life situated not only towards God and oneself, but also towards one’s social environment.
Description and explanation of the process of prayer requires a viable medium. We are confident that this Special Issue will be a forum for academic discussion, gathering articles from numerous disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, pedagogy, legal sciences, economics and finance, security sciences, politics and administration.
It is hoped that theoretical and empirical discourse will allow us to broaden and deepen the knowledge around social phenomena which occur during Christian prayer.
Specifically, we invite original research papers and reviews from social science perspective to encourage thoughtful discussion on prayer and its forms, why people pray, how prayer impacts people’s lives, and how to assess prayer. Example paper topics may include but are not limited to:
- Nature and manifestations of Christian prayer
- Development of Christian prayer
- Factors shaping Christian prayer
- Level and extent of impact of prayer on human functioning
- Benefits of praying
- Prayer and coping with difficult situations
- Prayer and health
Prof. Dr. Małgorzata Tatala
Prof. Dr. Konrad Janowski
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- specificity of prayer
- types of prayer
- prayer development
- conditions for prayer
- functions of prayer
- prayer crisis
- health dimension of prayer
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.