Many atheists and agnostics have a negative reaction to prayers said for them, CNN reported Monday, so Christians should probably keep them to themselves to avoid offending others.
Citing a recent study, CNN said that “some atheists and agnostics would pay money” to avoid having prayers sent their way after suffering a natural disaster such as a hurricane.
Sending thoughts and prayers in the wake of disasters is “controversial,” said Linda Thunström, an economist at the University of Wyoming who co-authored the study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The study, based on interaction with some 400 residents in North Carolina following Hurricane Florence’s destruction in 2018, said that atheists and agnostics are “prayer averse” — willing to pay to avoid receiving prayers — and are especially against receiving thoughts and prayers “from Christians.”
Nonreligious people “were willing to pay about $1.66 to avoid a prayer from a priest and more than double that price at $3.54 to avoid one from a Christian stranger,” CNN stated. – READ MORE