I know not all praying religions have their adherents join their hands, but I think it’s the case for most. Many cultures even use clasped hands in day-to-day life as a sign of deference or pleading (which I guess makes them “social prayers”).
My only ‘armchair anthropologist’ theory is that hands that are gripped together are unable to present a threat to you, so it is a signal of voluntary vulnerability. But that doesn’t make sense in a religious context (although it does in the social context), because how would you ever be a threat to any god in the first place? 🤔 If anything, you’re displaying arrogance by saying to god “yeah I COULD fuck you up, but just for this conversation, I’m gonna decommission my arms, arms which I have to register as deadly weapons by the way”.
A secondary question on this topic is what is the function of praying hands in the praying process? If you say a prayer without joining your hands, does it not reach god? Or does he hear it but he’s like “uhhh, excuse me?? Forgetting something? No childhood leukaemia cure for you, I guess!” like an overly-pedantic lawyer?
Third question: Do any holy books actually describe or prescribe ‘praying hands’? If so, what do they have to say about it?
Cheers! 🙏
Holding hands is hard wired in us, it makes us feel secure on an instinctual level.
When someone prays alone, they hold their own hands and our brains are dumb enough to not know the difference.
When done with a group and you hold each other, it promotes group bonding as well.
It’s like when they have you shake hands or hug your neighbor to begin with, it’s the same psychological reaction as smiling because smiling makes you happy.
You’re tricking your brain into thinking everything is fine and you’re safe by going thru the motions.
It’s much older than any religion that exists today, it’s older than hominds.