Times poll: More than half of us pray daily

By Janet I. Tu
Seattle Times staff reporter

	THOMAS JAMES HURST / THE SEATTLE TIMES Chrissy Beraza from Eastern Washington prays before Mass on Holy Thursday last week at St. James Cathedral in Seattle. Easter will find more Washingtonians in church today, but a new poll shows that many people pray frequently and privately.
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Raelene Sanders, a 42-year-old computer-network engineer in Tacoma, hasn't been a regular churchgoer for several years, but she prays by herself several times a day, and once a week with fellow Mary Kay cosmetics saleswomen. "I believe God hears you no matter where you are," she says.

Richard Carter is 62, a carpenter in Stevens County who has never been to church. But he, too, prays several times a day. "Prayer to me is just being thankful," he says. "I try to be thankful as much as I can. Every time I get a break or something, I say: 'Hey man, I made it this far. Thank you.' "

And Charlene Cuzick, a 65-year-old Shelton, Mason County, homemaker who prays several times a day, figures "I'd probably be in the nuthouse if it wasn't for prayer."

Many Christians will attend services today in an outward show of faith. Easter is one of two days each year — the other being Christmas — when most local churches are filled. But a recent Seattle Times poll shows that many Washington state residents nurture their faith in a more-private manner as well: through frequent personal prayer.

Despite the Pacific Northwest's status as the least-churchgoing region in the country, the recent Times poll of 500 state residents found that more than half — 53 percent — say they pray at least once a day.

Of the 500, 72 percent identified themselves as Christians, 3 percent as agnostic or atheist, 1 percent Jewish, 1 percent Muslim and 2 percent other religion such as Hindu or Buddhist. The others were unidentified.

	THOMAS JAMES HURST / THE SEATTLE TIMES During Mass at St. James Cathedral, a man prays before a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus. In a recent poll of 500 Washington residents, 53 percent said they pray daily.

The poll, conducted March 19-23 by Elway Research, showed that 31 percent of Washington residents prayed several times a day. That's compared with 36 percent nationwide in a CBS/New York Times February poll. Twenty-two percent of Washingtonians pray once a day, compared with 24 percent nationwide.

The poll result doesn't surprise Patricia O'Connell Killen, chairwoman of the religion department at Pacific Lutheran University and co-editor of a recent book on religion in the Pacific Northwest.

"In a region where people have interest in spirituality and where there are many kinds of spiritual seekers, that (prayer) number doesn't surprise me," Killen said. "I think praying and churchgoing are two separate categories.

"Prayer is associated with an individual's own spiritual journey. And increasingly in this region, as well as nationally, spiritual journey is disconnected from churchgoing or institutional affiliation."

The Times poll results were consistent with that notion, with 45 percent of Washingtonians saying they considered themselves very spiritual, but only 22 percent saying religion was extremely important to their daily lives.

Of course, many for whom religion matters deeply do pray frequently. But the poll results also show that those for whom religion is not as important may also pray often.

In the poll, gender was also a factor in prayer frequency. Of those who prayed once a day or more, 61 percent were women.

At the other extreme, 13 percent of all respondents said they never prayed. Of that group, 70 percent were men.

"I don't think there's any purpose" to prayer, said 32-year-old Darin Pidone of Tumwater, Thurston County, a teacher's assistant who describes himself as somewhat spiritual but not religious. "I assume there must be something out there, but I don't think it does me any good to think about it."

Those who do pray often do so in various ways and for various reasons, most saying they find solace, strength and a personal connection to God through their prayers.

Cuzick, the Shelton homemaker, said her husband was diagnosed with diabetes, hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver about a year ago. "I pray for the strength and wisdom to tell me how to get through this," she said.

At night, she sometimes utters the Catholic prayers of her childhood — especially the Hail Mary — to soothe herself to sleep. During the day, she says less-formal prayers three or four times.

"I wouldn't swear up and down that it's helping, but if I stopped maybe things would get worse. When I get really stressed out and things are going really bad, I can quietly go off and pray and talk and it eases it."

Sanders, the engineer from Tacoma, says she prays during her morning shower, throughout the day as she needs it, and at night before bed.

At work, if there's a colleague who's angered her, or a big decision that needs to be made, she prays for patience or guidance. She prays for the safety of her husband and kids, and for her family's continued economic stability.

She believes she is not only talking to the Lord, but also to her beloved mom, who died when Sanders was 32, and her grandfather who died recently.

"I have my own beliefs that when I talk to God, the people who've gone before me can hear me. I just believe that if I pray to God, they're watching over me."

Sanders went to an Assembly of God church in Renton off and on for a few years. Now, she and other Mary Kay saleswomen pray together before weekly meetings and talk about the blessings God has given that week. "That's more my fellowship now than going to church."

Monty Rowley, 60, who lives in unincorporated King County and attends a nondenominational Christian church, says prayer helps him cope with health problems. He's in chronic pain, he says, from neuropathy in his feet, bad ankles and knees, and rheumatoid arthritis. Five years ago he had open-heart surgery. If he's having a relatively pain-free day, he prays five times a day. "If I'm having a bad day, it's 25."

"One of the things I've found that soothes the most is prayer." While it doesn't take away the physical pain, "it helps with the mental part. It gives me the strength to go on."

He may be in a store parking lot, frustrated at once again having to use his wheelchair.

"What I do then is focus on the Lord. I know he's in charge. I give it to him." He'll sit for a few minutes, head bowed over steering wheel. "And then I'll get a peace. When I get that peace, I go forward."

The pain, he says, "allows me to remember how humble I need to be. He gets me through each day. If I didn't have the pain, would I lose that humility of knowing that he gets me through each day, of knowing that he's in charge?"

Derek Nelson, a 41-year-old Gig Harbor, Pierce County, banker, is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He, too, usually prays more than once a day — before family meals and whenever the need arises.

He goes somewhere private, gets down on his knees, gives thanks for his blessings in life, and prays for his family, friends and local and world leaders. If there's something special for which he needs guidance, he asks God for inspiration. "It's amazing — if I'm in tune, ideas will pop into my head, sometimes right then, sometimes a little later.

"I believe when you call upon your Heavenly Father, you're actually dialing up the phone and you want to make sure you don't hang up before he has a chance to say hello. It's a personal, direct connection with God — the doors to heaven aren't shut."

Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com

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