Yeah, Skinner was one, but lots of other psychologists have studied pigeons and many other animals. Many display all kinds of "ritual" behaviors which are not necessarily observed in nature, especially those who are kept imprisoned in zoos and lab cages. Skinner's concept was that there was no thinking, or at least, if any thinking was going on, it was entirely unimportant to know anything about it. Operant conditioning is all about changing behavior by adding or removing positive and negative stimuli, and is totally unconcerned about the mental activity that underlies it.
As I remember, intermittent positive reinforcement is the usually the most powerful training tool: occasionally rewarding the desired behavior with a positive response. Were I a deity wanting to keep my followers interested, I wouldn't respond to every request, but every once in awhile give a good, solid positive "yes" to fulfilling their prayers and rituals.
Maybe even make it look like random chance to nonbelievers.:yes: