“Abstract belief is easy…but to feel that God is close and present is hard,” Luhrmann, noting that prayer is an intricate “meta-cognitive activity.”

Later in the event, professors and fellow panelists Arthur M. Kleinman, Anne Harrington '82, and Ted J. Kaptchuk responded to Luhrmann’s points with findings from their own work in anthropology, history of science, and medicine respectively.

The panelists discussed the need for personal belief and practice to ensure that prayers become effective placebos.

Kaptchuk, who conducts trials to test the effectiveness of placebos in different environments, said that even when a placebo drug is administered to the patient who is fully aware that the pill is merely sugar, the placebo is still effective.

Harrington, who pointed towards the history of miraculous healings at Lourdes, France, asked how special healings relate to Luhrmann’s findings. Often, Harrington said, sick individuals are reluctant to be brought to Lourdes to be healed, and only begin believing in the power of prayer after the visit.

For her part, Luhrmann continued to emphasize the ability of positive prayer to act as a placebo.

“Think about prayer as a way of paying attention to your mind,” she said.

—Staff writer Theodore R. Delwiche can be reached at theodore.delwiche@thecrimson.com.