Should Christians Practice Reiki?

As I was scrolling through Instagram this week, a video of a Christian content creator caught my attention. The woman described a recent medical study which reported measurable scientific benefits from Reiki. Her takeaway was that Christians should embrace this alternative healing method as a way to follow in Jesus’ footsteps of healing.

So, what is Reiki? The term Reiki comes from the words Rei (meaning universal) and Ki (life energy). It is a Japanese form of energy healing in which “healers” believe they can direct “universal life energy” through their hands to bring a person healing, relief, and balance. 

There is a fundamental problem with Reiki. God is the only healer to whom we go and ask for grace. It is true that saints and followers of Jesus may be given charismatic gifts of healing (i.e., St. Raphael the Archangel, St. Blaise), but they are simply channels of that healing, not the agents of it. This is why we pray through the intercession of the saints, because healing ultimately comes from God. Reiki’s channeling of unknown “energy” from the “universe” is not the seeking of God’s grace, but rather operates under the belief that we have the ability to manipulate forces.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops provided some guidance in a 2009 document, Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy, writing, “Neither the Scriptures nor the Christian tradition as a whole speak of the natural world as based on ‘universal life energy’ that is subject to manipulation by the natural human power of thought and will. In fact, this worldview has its origins in eastern religions and has a certain monist and pantheistic character, in that distinctions among self, world, and God tend to fall away.”

The U.S. bishops also state, “Without justification either from Christian faith or natural science, however, a Catholic who puts his or her trust in Reiki would be operating in the realm of superstition, the no-man’s-land that is neither faith nor science. Superstition corrupts one’s worship of God by turning one’s religious feeling and practice in a false direction.”  

Let us not be so eager to pursue New Age healing remedies that fall outside of natural science and Church teaching. This is spiritually dangerous. When someone summons vague spiritual energies, instead of God, dark forces can respond.  Exorcists have reported cases when demons have entered someone’s life as a result.  

There are many modern treatments available thanks to the innovations of great doctors. Morally sound and science-backed medicine, paired with the practice of the Christian faith, offers a safer and surely more blessed route to healing according to God’s plan.