With the Superbowl this past weekend there was another "sports discussion" refreshed anew. Most fans, even the casual observer, know that the Cardinals' quarterback, Kurt Warner, is an outspoken evangelical Christian. Warner's post-game comments after the NFC championship did nothing if not solidify that assertion, but the more general question then arises; what role does prayer play in sports? (Note: I don't want this post to be a critique on individual players or the good that they may or may not have done while professing their faith but more of a discussion of the role of prayer in sports.)
Most of the athletes that I personally know will profess a faith and will admit to praying during or before an event, belonging to an organization, or otherwise admitting to intertwining sport and prayer. I too must admit to silently petitioning God while participating in a sporting event. I however don't ever pray to win, I pray for safety and strength throughout. This is where I believe prayer's rightful place is in sports; individual, personal and independent of those teammates and coaches who choose not to participate and the result itself is inconsequential. It really bugs me when at the end of a game, I'll see a winning team thank God, while the losing team never makes a peep. Even more bothersome is when the same athlete professes God in a win and remains "mum" during a loss.
Why is it that individuals "pray" so vocally and must profess their faith after winning the big game? Why is it that their team won? Where their prayers "answered"? Does God hate the losing team? Does God love the winning team that much more? Does God abandon you and that is why you didn't win? Does God really care in the outcome of a sporting event? These are questions by which of course there is no answer but many of the faithful ask them and have specific answers. The belief in specific answers is to me the most disturbing point of all.
Up until now I have been referencing professional athletes, and have been slightly tongue in cheek, yet the question becomes even more serious when youth are introduced to the idea. Legal challenges and constitutional questions about the separation of church and state are brought to the forefront when prayer is then introduced in public high school sports, can/should this be done? While the court has issued some rulings on the subject the decisions are not final and the discussion still continues on. (See the National Federation of State High School Associations) It is allowed if it is student/player led and no school official participates within the prayer, but should the school sanction an invocation that crosses the line. I happen to agree with that ruling, but many argue that taking God out of our public schools leads to the decline of morality and allows for the replacement of such with deviance and immorality, of which this is an extension.
Shouldn't the participation in clean competition and sportsmanship extend the morality of our youth by itself, without religion and prayer? I believe yes it can. While individual prayer in silence for safety and strength may be appropriate for sporting competitions the real lessons learned come from pressing your individual will as far as it can go and being the best that you can be within the face of adversity and challenge. The growth happens on the field during competition with or without religious values and prayer being extended onto the gridiron or diamond.
What do you think? Respond to this post, answer the poll, share your point of view, after all even Stephen Colbert has.
4 comments:
This isn't just reserved for athletes by the way. How about those actors who do the same thing? I agree that God has a great deal to do with our talents, but no one ever thanks the Big Guy Upstairs when they don't win top honors. I think it's a way for athletes to "look" humble after a win, and not so "I'm awesome, you suck" which is probably what they really want to say...
Lots of points. First, I think players don't thank God when they lose because they are pissed they lost. Seriously, it is part of our relationship with God to reconcile our feelings with God, even if those feelings are anger. So I am ok with players not boasting praise when they feel desolation.
Second, using Warner as an example, I do not take his thanks to Jesus as "Woohoo, God let us win and made you lose!" For Kurt, his faith encompasses his entire life. For him to speak about it when given the mic is just him pointing out that he loves God and it thankful for God. I think it's great, but yeah that's who I am too.
Third, no organized prayer in public school. Despite my beliefs, freedom of religion is also freedom from religion. Much like Free Will is our ability to reject God as much as accept Him.
As for me, I pray for 2 things while watching/playing sports. 1) To play well, because that is why we love the game. 2) To win. Not because I expect God to be on my side. But because "you play to win the game!"
I'm a firm agnostic - is that an oxymoron? No, I simply refuse to close my mind to any possibilities. I don't believe in aliens either, but I also don't disbelieve in them.
In any case, I really don't care one way or the other whether people want to give praise to God, or Allah, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster (think I'm joking? See his SuperBowl appearance here: http://www.venganza.org/) when they win, or lose, or poke someone's eye out (http://www.thisoldfarm.net/images/halloween/LostEye.jpg) at a sporting event. Firstly, I doubt the Almighty (with or without meatballs) gives one whit whether Warner has another superbowl ring, or if he goes home sans ring. Secondly, (and one of your readers has already pointed this out, but) if we have (God-given?) free will, that implies that the choice is in our hands, not determined by the Lord of Linguini...
Ok, but the real point I wanted to get at here is this: "many argue that taking God out of our public schools leads to the decline of morality". Really? These people bother me then. Is that the only way to be a moral person? Is it possible that morality and religion are not one and the same? Because they're quite separate things in my mind. Religion (to me) is about faith, not morality. Religion prescribes certain types of morality, like not touching the skin of a dead pig (Leviticus 11:7 - I hope Warner wears gloves!), but religion doesn't have a monopoly on morality, or own the patent (that would be Dr. Laura). I certainly don't think that a person has to be religious to be moral. I think Buddha probably had a pretty good set of morals, as did Lao Tzu, and neither of them were religious or believed in a god that I'm aware of. On the flipside, a person doesn't have to be moral to be religious, even if we're narrowing our definition of religious down to simply "Christian" (my apologies to the Great Noodly One). I think people concerned about the declining morality of our youth should look to our (America's) cultural values, not whether schools have the Ten Commandments posted in classrooms. Our values, our morals, come from our leaders and our personal role models, many of which are religious leaders yes, and our own innate sense of right and wrong (which seems to be pretty much universal, despite differing religions and cultures). Our religions are the embodyment of these moral foundations, not the other way around...end of rant.
-g
Good points, and even a shout out to the flying spaghetti monster, and (now unemployed) Herm Edwards what more can an antagonistic blogger ask for?
"Anonymous" I agree, I could have extended my distain for the shoutouts for "artists" and actors who claim one thing and then act another.
Ricky, I think Warner may be one of the exceptions a player who not only professes his belief but acts on it as well, 'cause as we all know "faith without works is like a screendoor on a submarine" but he was the most prevalent on YouTube so I used him to fire up the discussion.
Gman, I think you touch on the much larger subject of hypocrisy within all individualised religious practitioners, sports figures or not. This subject is also another giant pet peeve (and fear) of mine. I think you make a good point of our role models and leaders effecting our collective morality I guess I would just suggest to them, sports players and the like; not only to profess things with their mouths, but to act them with their deeds. "Walk the walk"
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