Frequently Asked Questions about Christian Science

They are your friends and neighbors, with backgrounds and interests as varied and wide-ranging as those of most of humanity. They share a deep and abiding desire to deepen their understanding of their relationship to God, and to learn how that understanding enables them to bring genuine, lasting healing to their lives, to the lives of those around them, to their communities, and to the world. In short, Christian Scientists strive to be healers.

Why is it called "Christian Science"?

It is Christian because it is based on the Bible and the teachings and ministry of Christ Jesus. The virgin birth, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension of Christ Jesus are all central to Christian Science theology. It is scientific because it is based on a set of spiritual principles —laws relating to the nature of God and His creation—that can be applied with expected, consistent results.

What do Christian Scientists mean when they talk about healing through prayer?

There are no rituals, formulas, or incantations in Christian Science. Prayer in Christian Science is rooted in the nature of God as good and in each individual’s relationship to God and inseparability from God’s love. It is the progressive understanding of this fact—that one can never be separated from God and God’s love—that brings healing of anything that needs healing, whether it involves one’s financial health, or physical health, emotional well-being—or, for that matter, one’s community or the world at large. Through Christian Science, millions have learned that no problem is too big—or too small—for God.

Do you have to be a member of the church to use Christian Science?

Absolutely not. Most "Christian Scientists" came to be "Christian Scientists" by studying its teachings—and applying them to their lives—before they became members of The Church of Christ, Scientist. Church services are always open to everyone, and anyone can ask for prayer in Christian Science from a Christian Science practitioner. Indeed, there are those who study and practice Christian Science within another faith. Click here to read an interview of a Christian Scientist who is also an Orthodox Rabbi.

Do you believe that Jesus is the same as God?

No. Christian Scientists do believe that Jesus stands alone in his mission and purpose as the promised Messiah. Christian Science teaches that Jesus embodied the divinity of God but that he himself was not Deity—in keeping with Jesus’ own words that he was not the Father, and that God, the Father, alone should be worshiped.

Is Christian Science similar to positive thinking?

No. Positive thinking relies on the human mind to think or effect a good result. Christian Science starts with God and the conviction that God’s goodness embraces each of us, all the time.

Is Christian Science treatment similar to “faith healing”?

That would depend on how “faith healing” is defined, but in common practice the answer would be “no.” Christian Science does not involve pleading with God to heal the sick and then accepting His will, good or bad. Nothing in Christian Science theology says it’s God’s will that anyone suffer, be sick, or die. Christian Science shows God to be entirely good, and therefore His will for each individual is only health and life.

Who is Mary Baker Eddy?

She is the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science and the author of our textbook Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. There is a nice page about Mary Baker Eddy kept by the churches in Hawaii that has several useful links. Click here to visit that page.

Do Christian Scientists take medicine?

Generally, a Christian Scientist’s first choice is to rely on prayer for healing, and in most cases, this means that a medical remedy is unnecessary.

There is no biblical or church mandate to forgo medical intervention, nor do Christian Scientists believe that it’s God’s will that anyone suffer or die. A Christian Scientist’s decision to rely on prayer comes from trust, not blind faith, in God, and from a conviction that God’s care continues under every circumstance.

Are Christian Scientists free to seek medical treatment?

Yes. Health care decisions are always up to the individual. The church does not influence those decisions. Having said that, many Christian Scientists have consistently found prayer to be a reliable means of health care.

What do you do in cases of communicable disease?

Christian Scientists care about their neighbors and fellow community members and gladly abide by city and state laws or mandates regarding quarantines, vaccinations, and the like. The Christian Science Journal, Christian Science Sentinel, and The Herald of Christian Science also contain documented healings of communicable diseases and show the role prayer can play, not just in protecting and healing individuals, but in helping communities as well.

Why do Christian Scientists seek exemptions to health laws?

Christian Scientists are not seeking exemptions from such laws but rather that proper accommodations be a part of these laws to ensure the right of every citizen to his reasonable choice of effective healthcare.

How do Christian Scientists approach the health care of their children?

Christian Science parents are like any other parents—they love their children and want the very best care for them. Parents who choose Christian Science treatment for a child do so because they’ve seen the effectiveness of this treatment in their own lives.

Is Christian Science a religion?

It is a religion as well as a system of spiritually based care. It is a religion in the sense that there is a church—The Church of Christ, Scientist—that supports the practice of Christian Science throughout the world. However, it is also a system of spiritually-based care that is studied and practiced by people of many faith traditions.

Is Christian Science the same as Scientology?

No. Christian Science and Scientology are not related in any way.

The theology of Christian Science is based on the teachings and practice of Christ Jesus, including healing through prayer.

Christian Science was discovered by Mary Baker Eddy about 140 years ago in the United States. She was a devoted student of the Bible, which is foundational to the practice of Christian Science. In 1875, she published her most important work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which explains what Christian Science is and how it is practiced. This book, along with the Bible, later became the Pastor of her Church.

In 1879, Mrs. Eddy organized the Church of Christ, Scientist, “to commemorate the word and works of our Master [Christ Jesus] which should reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing” (see Church Manual, p. 17). The first of the six tenets of Christian Science is: “As adherents of Truth [God], we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life” (see Science and Health, p. 497).

Scientology is grounded on several works by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986). The seminal work is Dianetics, published in 1950. The Church of Scientology was incorporated in 1952.

What is a Christian Science practitioner?

Christian Science practitioners are healers who devote their lives to the application of prayer, as taught in Christian Science, to any situation that is brought to their attention. You can find a list of Christian Science practitioners in the full-time practice throughout the world in The Christian Science Journal, which can be found in Christian Science Reading Rooms around the world, or online at www.csjournal.com.

Practitioners are members of the Mother Church and almost always a member of one of its branch churches as well, but they are not employees of the Mother Church or any church entity. They are self-employed individuals who have completed a course in spiritual healing given by an authorized teacher of Christian Science. There are part-time practitioners but they cannot receive a listing in The Christian Science Journal until they make this their full-time profession.

What is a Christian Science nurse?

Christian Science nurses provide skillful, non-medical physical care for anyone relying on Christian Science for healing. This care includes bathing, dressing wounds, assistance with mobility, feeding, and so forth. You can find a list of Christian Science nurses throughout the world in The Christian Science Journal—available in Christian Science Reading Rooms, or online at www.csjournal.com.

Preparation for the professional practice of Christian Science nursing often includes coursework provided by Christian Science nursing organizations, one-to-one training from an experienced Christian Science nurse, and/or experience with facility or private-duty Christian Science nursing.

Do Christian Scientists take direction from a religious authority?

The Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy is the governing document of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts—The Mother Church of Churches of Christ, Scientist, worldwide. The Church is a "lay" organization, without ordained clergy of any kind. Moreover, Christian Science teaches the uniqueness and inseparability of one’s relationship to God. One’s choices in all personal matters—including healthcare—are always one's own.

Does the Church have a position on abortion?

The Church trusts its members’ humble, soul-searching prayers to guide them to the steps that are nearest right for them in this situation. In most cases, Christian Scientists approach issues regarding their bodies and health with prayer instead of seeking medical solutions.

Women and men who face such a difficult decision deserve compassion and support. For society as a whole, the tragedy of so many unwanted pregnancies outside of marriage can point to the need for a deeper acceptance of the moral precepts that protect human happiness and stabilize society. Christian Scientists hold a deep conviction that the more we understand life to be wholly spiritual, the more we’ll find healing answers to even the most challenging personal and social problems, including this one.

The Church does not direct, advise, or urge upon its members a specific stance in regard to society’s legal decisions about abortion.

How can Christian Science help me?

Christian Science shows you how to gain a clearer view of who you really are, as cherished and loved by God, as wholly spiritual. This understanding changes the way you look at things and it brings healing, naturally and inevitably.

What does Christian Science teach?

The best answer to this question can be found in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, available from many booksellers, and in Christian Science Reading Rooms around the world.

Here are the tenets of Christian Science, as found in Science and Health:

1. As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life.

2. We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. We acknowledge His Son, one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man in God's image and likeness.

3. We acknowledge God's forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts.

4. We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man's unity with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ, through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death.

5. We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life, even the allness of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter.

6. And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.

Where do I go to find out more?

You can click here to visit a more in depth article on "What Christian Science Is and Isn't"

You can contact a local Christian Science practitioner or visit a local Christian Science church or Christian Science Reading Room Find a Church of Christ, Scientist in your community.