"What is Prayer?" - A symposium featuring Sister Mary Margaret Funk, David D. Hall, Carol Zaleski and Albert Raboteau – May 11, 2007

Prayer has been practiced in all religious traditions and is today a topic of much interest. Yet prayer is poorly understood. Conceived as a private act, its social and cultural dimensions are particularly neglected. Regarded as a tool for health and happiness, prayer is also shaped increasingly by popular writers, the media, and even by scholars claiming to study it scientifically. This symposium brings together a panel of scholars and practitioners to discuss the historical, cultural, social, and religious aspects of prayer and to consider its changing meanings and implications. Featuring Sister Mary Margaret Funk, Our Lady of Grace Monastery; David D. Hall, Harvard Divinity School; Carol Zaleski, Smith College; and Albert Raboteau, Princeton University. Held by the Cognition and Religion Initiative of the Princeton University Center for the Study of Religion.