America has an annual 'National Day of Prayer' each May.
Apparently everyone in that religion crazy country is supposed to stop doing anything remotely useful and instead spend all day praying for important things to be fixed for them by god.
Forgive my cynicism but if churches were honest about it, they would register their prayers in a log book and monitor the progress of god's results. All businesses have 'Quality Assurance' systems but of course religion does not. Does anyone (inside or outside the religious community) ever actually analyse the Day of Prayer by finding out: (a) what was prayed for; (b) how many churches prayed for it; (c) how many people prayed for it; (d) which particular god they prayed to; and (e) what was the noticable effect that this nationally orchestrated effort of mega-praying had on the United States?
For instance, how many millions of people, in how many thousands of churches, all over the US prayed for world peace? How many prayed for the total elimination of cancer? How many prayed they would win the lottery? What what was the observable effect? Was world peace granted by 'god'? Was cancer eradicated overnight and if not, then by what lesser amount did god reduce it by; and how many hospital oncology departments had to close as a result? How many health care professionals lost their jobs? Did millions of people all win the lottery at the same time?
Is there any reason why these matters should not become the subject of fair and honest scrutiny? Accountants are legally required to get their books audited and churches that make astonishing claims should have their claims audited. It would be a wonderful way for them to prove that prayer power really works, wouldn't it?
acknowlegements to freethunk.net