What are the similarities between sports and religions?

September 18, 2020 By SS360 Staff

Whether it’s the sign of the cross, the point up to the skies or the genuflect after a score, overtones of religion in sports is not uncommon. Often, religion can be thought of as a personal or private matter. As long as the athlete performs to expectations, what they do and believe is their choice. However, what happens when sports and religion intersect? In this article about religion and sports, we’ll explore the role of religion and how it affects various athletes’ ideals and beliefs. We’ll also look into which religion doesn’t allow you to play sports in certain conditions and how religious athletes have responded.

What role does religion have in sports?

Historically, religion and sports were closely intertwined. Sporting events often had ties to religious ceremonies or festivals. These events acted as powerful symbols or metaphors of the transcendent. For example, the Olympic Games, held by ancient Greeks, were more of a festival or a celebration for their gods rather than merely a sporting event. While sports have become more secular today, religion still continues to have an impact. On a psychological level, studies have shown religion and spirituality enhance performance in sports. As with any human beings, athletes face their fair share of challenges and often cite religion as a key factor in overcoming their adversities.

Stories of devoted athletes who hold fast to their faith, even when there may be a conflict between the two, demonstrates the importance of religion in sports today. Additionally, observers are noticing the parallels of the fanaticism of modern-day sports to religion itself, asking the question “are sports a religion?” And while religion in America is in decline, the number of sports fans is on the rise. While cathedrals once were the primary spaces for communal gatherings, they have since been replaced by modern sports stadiums.

How does religion affect sport participation?

Are there instances when religion may affect sport participation and have there been cases when religion requires an athlete to sit out of a game? This issue of religion and sport participation ultimately boils down to the belief and values of the athlete.

Most religions have some sort of restrictions and expectations. These can include:

• Clothing restrictions
• Days of worship
• Religious festivals and holidays
• Periods of fasting
• Interactions between different sexes

As we’ll see from some of the real-life examples below, each athlete made their own decision how they responded when faced with a conflict between their sport and religion.

Effects of religion on sports: some examples

Hakeem Olajuwon

As a devout Muslim, Hakeem Olajuwon observes the Islamic festival of Ramadan by fasting for an entire month. In 1994 and 1995, the Houston Rockets were playing in the NBA championships during Ramadan. Despite his fasting, Olajuwon still helped lead the Rockets to back-to-back championships.

William Hopoate

William Hopoate gave up a million-dollar contract in 2011 to pursue missionary work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After two years of missionary work, he continued his career in professional rugby. At first, Hopoate announced he would not practice or play any games on Sundays due to his faith. However, he later reversed his decision and decided he would play on Sundays.

Sandy Koufax

In 1965, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ star pitcher and future Hall of Famer sat out Game 1 of that year’s World Series to observe the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. The Dodgers went on to lose the game to the Minnesota Twins, 8-2, although they ultimately won the Fall Classic in seven games. Koufax was named World Series MVP after throwing two shutouts in Games 5 and 7.

Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards was a British triple jumper having won Olympic, World and European championships. At the time, he held strong Christian beliefs and refused to compete on Sundays. Because of this belief, Edwards lost out on the 1991 World Championships. Interestingly enough, in 1993, he changed his mind after discussions with his father, a clergyman, and decided it was not against his faith to compete on Sundays.

Brigham Young University/Eli Herring

Brigham Young University (BYU) is owned and run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and does not permit any of its sports teams to practice or compete on Sundays in observance of the Sabbath. In 1995, Cougars offensive lineman Eli Herring penned a letter telling NFL teams not to draft him because he wouldn’t play on Sundays. The Oakland Raiders drafted Herring anyhow in the 6th round and offered him a contract worth $1.5 million, which he declined.

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Psychologists are closing in on the conclusion that sport has many of the same effects on spectators as religion does [Barber, 2012]. Here is Daniel Wann [2001], a leading sport psychologist at Murray State University, and his co-authors:

"The similarities between sport fandom and organized religion are striking. Consider the vocabulary associated with both: faith, devotion, worship, ritual, dedication, sacrifice, commitment, spirit, prayer, suffering, festival, and celebration." p. 198

It may seem odd, to equate religion with sport entertainment but it must be understood that prior to mass communications, religious ceremonies were a source of entertainment for ordinary people who rarely attended a theater or traveled to a sporting event. Sports and religion may get categorized separately but their intersection is difficult to miss.

As Wann and collaborators note, various scholars discuss sport in terms of "natural religion," "humanistic religion," and "primitive polytheism" pointing out that "spectators worship other human beings, their achievements, and the groups to which they belong." And that sports stadia and arenas resemble "cathedrals where followers gather to worship their heroes and pray for their successes." [Wann, et al., 2001, p. 200]

If ritual may be entertaining, then entertainment, as experienced in a sports stadium, may be ritualistic. Fans wear the team colors and carry its flags, icons, and mascots. Then there is repetitive chanting of team encouragement, hand-clapping, booing the other team, doing the wave, and so forth. The singing of an anthem at a sporting event likely has similar psychological effects as the singing of a hymn in church.

Given that sports entertainment has obvious similarities to religious rituals, it is reasonable to ask whether the connection between fans and their preferred sport has psychological effects that are comparable to religious experiences - effects that account for religion as a worldwide human adaptation.

Sports as a substitute for religion
As a group, sports fans are fairly religious, according to research. It is also curious that as religious attendance rates have dropped off in recent decades, interest in sport spectatorship has soared. Moreover, research has debunked several stereotypes about sports fans that seem incompatible with religiosity. Fans are not lazy, Nor are they particularly prone to violence. Male fans do not have bad marriages.

Some scholars believe that fans are highly committed to their favored stars and teams in a way that gives focus and meaning to their daily lives. In addition, sports spectatorship is a transformative experience through which fans escape their humdrum lives, just as religious experiences help the faithful to transcend their everyday existence.

From that perspective, the face painting, hair tinting, and distinctive costumes are thought to satisfy specific religious goals including identification with the team, escape from everyday limitations and disappointments, and establishing a community of fans.

So far, the transformative aspects of fandom are quite close to those associated with religion. Lest the fans become too smug, here is a socialist critique:

Shaped by the needs of capitalist systems, spectator sports serve vested interests as a type of "cultural anesthesia," a form of "spiritual masturbation," or "opiate" that distracts, diverts, and deflects attention from the pressing social problems and issues of the day [Wann, pp 201-202].

Of course, Karl Marx famously declared that religion is the opium of the people, Not all religions numb people to their social and moral responsibilities, however. On thinks of liberation theology in Latin America, for instance. No one ever claimed that sports had such redeeming qualities, however. According to one critic (Harris, 1981), "it has turned into a passion, a mania, a drug far more potent and widespread than any mere chemical substance." It is the new opium of the people.

Barber, N. (2012). Why atheism will replace religion: The triumph of earthly pleasures over pie in the sky. E-book, available at: http://www.amazon.com/Atheism-Will-Replace-Religion-ebook/dp/B00886ZSJ6/

Harris, S. J. (1981, November 3). Sport is new opium of the people. Democrat and Chronicle, p. 3B.
Wann, D. L., Melznick, M. J., Russell, G. W., & Pease, D. G. (2001). Sport fans: The psychology and social impact of spectators .New York: Routledge.