Is STEPP Study a real miracle?
Assessed by Miracles Jar AI · 2026-06-10
UnprovenClaimed — the record can't carry it
Miracles Jar rates STEPP Study — Proximal Intercessory Prayer and Sensory Improvement in Mozambique (2010) Unproven. Too thin a record to say either way. Two scales drive that verdict: how extraordinary it would be if it truly happened — toss-up — and how strong the evidence is — thinly documented.
How miraculous, if true
Toss-up
Does it break the laws of nature — if it really happened?
How strong the evidence
Thinly documented
Is there evidence it's true?
Common questions
- Is STEPP Study real or fake?
- Miracles Jar's verdict is Unproven: claimed — the record can't carry it. Too thin a record to say either way. On the evidence, the record is thinly documented.
- Has STEPP Study been debunked?
- No — but it has not been confirmed either. The record is too thin to carry the claim in either direction. The natural alternative most often raised is expectation, suggestion & the placebo response.
- What is the evidence for STEPP Study?
- Miracles Jar weighs 3 sources for this case. Points that support the claim: Published in a peer-reviewed medical journal (Southern Medical Journal) with statistically significant results (hearing p<0.003, vision p<0.02); and Effect sizes reportedly exceeded prior hypnosis and suggestion research, which the authors note. Points that cut against it: No control group, no blinded assessors, no independent medical verification of baseline conditions; and Demand effect: subjects knew they were receiving prayer; behavioral and self-report changes are well-documented in unblinded studies.
- What is the natural explanation for STEPP Study?
- The leading natural account is expectation, suggestion & the placebo response. Belief produces real, measurable change in the body. The relief can be genuine while the cause stays entirely natural. The full breakdown shows where that explanation holds — and where it stops.
- When and where did STEPP Study happen?
- It is said to have occurred 2009–2010 (published September 2010) in Rural Mozambique.
More questions like this
Miracles Jar weighs each claim two ways — how extraordinary it would be if it truly happened, and how strong the evidence is — so you can judge it for yourself. See the full case → Or browse every verdict →