Reading note
This is an archival account of a small, self-selected survey. It is not evidence that prayer produces a uniform answer, and it should not be treated as a representative study of any religious community.
Purpose and scope
The project asked whether people could use prayer to form a view about divine intention on same-sex marriage, and how confident they felt about that interpretation. Participants were invited by email after seeing a request for volunteers. The subject matter involved personal belief, religious identity and sexual orientation, so the results are presented only in coded form.
Study design
Each volunteer received the same questionnaire. It asked about an initial position on same-sex marriage, sexual orientation, religious affiliation and religious outlook. Participants were then invited to pray about the issue, wait until they felt they had reached a conclusion or stopped trying, and report whether they believed they had discerned divine will and how certain they were.
The sample was self-selected rather than randomly drawn. Early responses came largely from religiously liberal readers. A later request sought more conservative participation. Data collection began in July 1999 and ended on 27 January 2000, with 75 responses recorded.
Questions presented to participants
- What was the participant's initial position on same-sex marriage?
- How did the participant describe their sexual orientation?
- What religious or non-religious affiliation did they identify with?
- How did they describe their religious outlook?
- Did they pray about the question and seek divine guidance?
- Did they continue until they reached a conclusion or stopped trying?
- Did they believe they had discerned divine will?
- What conclusion did they report about divine approval?
- How confident were they in that conclusion?
Raw data: subjects 1–30
The table below retains the first 30 coded records. The codes are explained below; dashes indicate that a later answer was not supplied or did not apply.
| Subject | Initial view | Orientation | Affiliation | Outlook | Discerned? | Reported answer | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yes | Bisexual | Christian | Liberal | Yes | Approved | Very high |
| 2 | Yes | Bisexual | Satanism | Liberal | Yes | Approved | Certain |
| 3 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Christian | Liberal | Yes | Approved | Certain |
| 4 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Wicca | Liberal | Yes | Approved | Certain |
| 5 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Christian | Liberal | No | — | — |
| 6 | Yes | Heterosexual | Unitarian | Liberal | Yes | Approved | Very high |
| 7 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Christian | Liberal | No | — | — |
| 8 | Yes | Heterosexual | Christian | Liberal | Yes | Approved | Very high |
| 9 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | None | — | No | — | — |
| 10 | No | Gay or lesbian | Christian | Mainline | No | — | — |
| 11 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Wicca | Liberal | No | — | — |
| 12 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Christian | Liberal | No | — | — |
| 13 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Agnostic | Liberal | No | — | — |
| 14 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Christian | Conservative | Yes | Approved | Certain |
| 15 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Christian | Liberal | Yes | Approved | Fairly high |
| 16 | No | Gay or lesbian | Meditation | Liberal | No | — | — |
| 17 | Yes | Heterosexual | Christian | Liberal | Yes | Approved | Very high |
| 18 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Wicca | Liberal | No | — | — |
| 19 | No | Gay or lesbian | Christian | Conservative | Yes | Not approved | — |
| 20 | Yes | Heterosexual | Christian | Liberal | Yes | Approved | Very high |
| 21 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Wicca | Liberal | Yes | Approved | Certain |
| 22 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Humanist | Liberal | No | — | — |
| 23 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Neopagan | Liberal | No | — | — |
| 24 | Yes | Bisexual | Atheist | Liberal | No | — | — |
| 25 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Wicca | Liberal | Yes | Approved | Not sure |
| 26 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Other | Liberal | Yes | Approved | Certain |
| 27 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Unitarian | Liberal | — | — | — |
| 28 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Atheist | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Yes | Gay or lesbian | Atheist | Liberal | — | — | — |
| 30 | No | Gay or lesbian | Christian | Mainline | Yes | Not approved | Certain |
Codes and interpretation
Limitations
The study cannot establish what prayer does or does not reveal. Its volunteers were not representative, the sample was small, the subject was emotionally and politically contested, and responses relied on personal interpretation. The data are therefore best read as an illustration of how people report religious discernment—not as a test that can settle theological or ethical questions.