Dr. Candy Gunther Brown

With a Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. summa cum laude from Harvard University, Dr. Brown is a Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University. Her books include Testing Prayer: Science and Healing, with Harvard University Press, and Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Healing, with Oxford University Press. While pursuing her husband’s healing, Dr. Candy Gunther Brown became aware that claims of miraculous healing through prayer are abundant globally and can be studied using empirical methods. She traveled the world observing how people pray for healing, distributed written surveys, interviewed people offering and receiving prayer, collected before-and-after medical records, collaborated with medical doctors and research scientists to conduct clinical trials of prayer, followed up with those reporting healing weeks and often years later, contextualized findings through review of scholarly literature in history, theology, anthropology, sociology, and biomedicine, and used quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze data. Examining healing experiences through multiple lenses revealed patterns useful in understanding the circumstances under which healing is most likely to occur. Dr. Brown found that many people who report miracles pray with persistence in the name of Jesus, welcome the Holy Spirit’s presence, repeatedly ask others to pray with them, and, grateful to experience God’s power and love, become active in praying with others, who in turn report miracles. 

Together, the Browns’ expertise in clinical and social science research brings a level of credibility and depth to Miracle Series that elevates every story.