Editing Christian Science (section)

== Healing practices ==
=== Christian Science prayer ===
{{further|Christian Science practitioner}}

{{blockquote|[A]ll healing is a metaphysical process. That means that there is no person to be healed, no material body, no patient, no matter, no illness, no one to heal, no substance, no person, no thing and no place that needs to be influenced. This is what the practitioner must first be clear about.|Practitioner Frank Prinz-Wondollek, 2011.<ref name=Prinz>Frank Prinz-Wondollek, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfpxtBZuvaA "How does Christian Science heal?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523131402/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfpxtBZuvaA |date=2015-05-23 }}, Boston: Christian Science Lectures, April 28, 2011, from 00:02 mins.</ref>}}

[[File:Mary Baker Eddy Library, Boston, 10 July 2014.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mary Baker Eddy Library]], 200 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston]]

Christian Scientists avoid almost all medical treatment, relying instead on Christian Science prayer.<ref>Battin 1999, p.&nbsp;[https://books.google.com/books?id=_XqLtMpuIwkC&pg=PA7 7] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101115038/https://books.google.com/books?id=_XqLtMpuIwkC&pg=PA7 |date=2022-11-01 }}.</ref> This consists of silently arguing with oneself; there are no appeals to a personal god, and no set words.<ref>{{harvnb|Stark|1998|pp=196–197}}; Gottschalk 2006, p.&nbsp;[https://books.google.com/books?id=r-FYQv75w7kC&pg=PA86 86] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101115039/https://books.google.com/books?id=r-FYQv75w7kC&pg=PA86 |date=2022-11-01 }}.</ref> [[Caroline Fraser]] wrote in 1999 that the practitioner might repeat: "the allness of God using Eddy's seven synonyms—Life, Truth, Love, Spirit, Soul, Principle and Mind," then that "Spirit, Substance, is the only Mind, and man is its image and likeness; that Mind is intelligence; that Spirit is substance; that Love is wholeness; that Life, Truth, and Love are the only reality." She might deny other religions, the existence of evil, mesmerism, [[astrology]], [[numerology]], and the symptoms of whatever the illness is. She concludes, Fraser writes, by asserting that disease is a lie, that this is the word of God, and that it has the power to heal.{{sfn|Fraser|1999|pp=94–96}}

Christian Science practitioners are certified by the Church of Christ, Scientist, to charge a fee for Christian Science prayer. There were 1,249 practitioners worldwide in 2015;<ref>[http://directory.christianscience.com/search?query=&types&#91;&#93;=practitioners_teachers&language=english&distance_select=any "Teachers and practitioners"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706150211/https://directory.christianscience.com/search?query=&types%5B%5D=practitioners_teachers&language=english&distance_select=any |date=2022-07-06 }}, ''Christian Science Journal''.</ref> in the United States in 2010 they charged $25–$50 for an e-mail, telephone or face-to-face consultation.<ref name=Vitello>Vitello, Paul (March 23, 2010). [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/nyregion/24heal.html "Christian Science Church Seeks Truce With Modern Medicine"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402222823/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/nyregion/24heal.html |date=2017-04-02 }}, ''The New York Times''.</ref> Their training is a two-week, 12-lesson course called "primary class", based on the Recapitulation chapter of ''Science and Health''.<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1999|pp=91–93}}; Eddy, [http://christianscience.com/read-online/science-and-health/%28chapter%29/chapter-xiv-recapitulation#anchor.1.14 "Recapitulation"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203115409/http://christianscience.com/read-online/science-and-health/%28chapter%29/chapter-xiv-recapitulation |date=2014-02-03 }}, ''Science and Health''.</ref> Practitioners wanting to teach primary class take a six-day "[[Normal school#History|normal class]]", held in Boston once every three years, and become Christian Science teachers.{{sfn|Fraser|1999|p=91}} There are also Christian Science nursing homes. They offer no medical services; the nurses are Christian Scientists who have completed a course of religious study and training in basic skills, such as feeding and bathing.<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1999|p=329}}; [http://csncommission.org/facilities-organizations/ "Christian Science nursing facilities"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917015659/http://csncommission.org/facilities-organizations/ |date=2012-09-17 }}, Commission for Accreditation of Christian Science Nursing Organizations/Facilities.</ref>

The ''[[Christian Science Journal]]'' and ''[[Christian Science Sentinel]]'' publish anecdotal healing testimonials (they published 53,900 between 1900 and April 1989),<ref name="books.google.com">Battin 1999, p.&nbsp;[https://books.google.com/books?id=_XqLtMpuIwkC&pg=PA15 15] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101115041/https://books.google.com/books?id=_XqLtMpuIwkC&pg=PA15 |date=2022-11-01 }}.</ref> which must be accompanied by statements from three verifiers: "people who know [the testifier] well and have either witnessed the healing or can vouch for [the testifier's] integrity in sharing it".<ref>[http://jsh.christianscience.com/submit/testimony-guidelines "Testimony Guidelines"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219202456/http://jsh.christianscience.com/submit/testimony-guidelines |date=2014-02-19 }}, JSH-Online, Christian Science church.</ref> Philosopher [[Margaret Battin|Margaret P. Battin]] wrote in 1999 that the seriousness with which these testimonials are treated by Christian Scientists ignores factors such as false positives caused by self-limiting conditions. Because no negative accounts are published, the testimonials strengthen people's tendency to rely on anecdotes.<ref name="books.google.com"/> A church study published in 1989 examined 10,000 published testimonials, 2,337 of which the church said involved conditions that had been medically diagnosed, and 623 of which were "medically confirmed by follow-up examinations". The report offered no evidence of the medical follow-up.<ref>Battin 1999, p.&nbsp;[https://books.google.com/books?id=_XqLtMpuIwkC&pg=PA15 15] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101115041/https://books.google.com/books?id=_XqLtMpuIwkC&pg=PA15 |date=2022-11-01 }}; [http://www.johnsonfund.org/empirical.pdf "An Empirical Analysis of Medical Evidence in Christian Science Testimonies of Healing, 1969–1988"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710015914/http://www.johnsonfund.org/empirical.pdf |date=2010-07-10 }}, Christian Science church, April 1989, pp.&nbsp;2, 7, courtesy of the Johnson Fund.</ref> The Massachusetts Committee for Children and Youth listed among the report's flaws that it had failed to compare the rates of successful and unsuccessful Christian Science treatment.<ref>Peters 2007, p.&nbsp;22; [http://www.masskids.org/images/stories/ChildAaN/Death_by_Religious_Exemption.pdf "An Analysis of a Christian Science Study of the Healings of 640 Childhood Illnesses"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402222607/http://www.masskids.org/images/stories/ChildAaN/Death_by_Religious_Exemption.pdf |date=2017-04-02 }}, ''Death by Religious Exemption'', Coalition to Repeal Exemptions to Child Abuse Laws, Massachusetts Committee for Children and Youth, January 1992, Section&nbsp;IX, p.&nbsp;34.</ref>

Nathan Talbot, a church spokesperson, told the ''[[New England Journal of Medicine]]'' in 1983 that church members were free to choose medical care,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Talbot | first1 = Nathan | year = 1983| title = The position of the Christian Science church | journal = New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 309 | issue = 26| pages = 1641–1644 [1642] | doi = 10.1056/NEJM198312293092611 | pmid = 6646189 }}</ref> but according to former Christian Scientists those who do may be [[ostracized]].<ref name=Vitello/> In 2010 the ''New York Times'' reported church leaders as saying that, for over a year, they had been "encouraging members to see a physician if they feel it is necessary", and that they were repositioning Christian Science prayer as a supplement to medical care, rather than a substitute. The church has lobbied to have the work of Christian Science practitioners covered by insurance.<ref name=Vitello/>

As of 2015, it was reported that Christian Scientists in Australia were not advising anyone against vaccines, and the religious exception was deemed "no longer current or necessary".<ref>Samantha Maiden (April 18, 2015). [https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/no-jab-no-pay-reforms-religious-exemptions-for-vaccination-dumped/news-story/5941541520ab64a115704f58633a1d68 "No Jab, No Pay reforms: Religious exemptions for vaccination dumped"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928014909/https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/no-jab-no-pay-reforms-religious-exemptions-for-vaccination-dumped/news-story/5941541520ab64a115704f58633a1d68 |date=2021-09-28 }}. ''Daily Telegraph''.</ref> In 2021, a church Committee on Publication reiterated that although vaccination was an individual choice, that the church did not dictate against it, and those who were not vaccinated did not do so because of any "church dogma".<ref>Christine Pae (September 1, 2021). [https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/vaccine/who-qualifies-for-a-religious-covid-19-exemption-washington/281-65431353-6096-4d09-899c-3c2d6f573447 "Here's who qualifies for a religious exemption to Washington's COVID-19 vaccine mandate"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928014357/https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/vaccine/who-qualifies-for-a-religious-covid-19-exemption-washington/281-65431353-6096-4d09-899c-3c2d6f573447 |date=2021-09-28 }}. ''KING 5''.</ref>