AGE-DIFFERENCES IN PATTERNS AND CORRELATES OF THE FREQUENCY OF PRAYER

This study examines differences by age cohort in (a) the frequency of prayer, (b) racial and gender variation in prayer, and (c) religious a nd sociodemographic correlates of prayer. Analyses are conducted acros s four age cohorts (18-30, 31-40, 41-60, greater than or equal to 61) using data from the 1988 National Opinion Research Center (NORC) Gener al Social Survey (N = 1,481). Findings reveal that prayer is frequentl y practiced at all ages, but more frequently in successively older coh orts. In addition, females and, to a lesser extent, African Americans pray more frequently than males and Whites, respectively. Further, hie rarchical multiple regression analyses reveal statistically significan t associations across age cohorts between prayer and key measures of r eligious behavior, feeling, belief, and experience.