Can Sports Be A Religion

Sports were born as a form of entertainment; yet, nowadays they occupy a big part in the everyday life of many people who often gather together to play, discuss, watch and enjoy some kind of sport. They became a tool, an excuse for social gathering and events where friends and strangers cheer and fight united to show their support for a team or individual of their favorite sport.

With the birth of new religions and religious movements in the last century, such as Heaven’s gate, Wiccan, UFO etc., a new dilemma raised: can a sport be a religion?

In my opinion I do not think sport can enter in the category of religion; however I can see why other people may think otherwise and perhaps in the future, sport can actually become a legit religion.

In order to be able to answer the question proposed above, there is the need to answer to another one: what is a religion?
The textbook “The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft” by Stein and Stein, offers a set of definitions to the concept of religion.

The analytic definitions concentrates on the relationship between religion and the cultural context; while the essential definition of religion states that “ a religion is a system of beliefs and behaviors that deals with the relationship between humans and sacred supernatural ”; where the sacred is intended as something worthy of reverence and respect and where the supernatural is intended as something that goes above the natural human world.

To these given definitions, it must be added common characteristics shared by most or all of the religions.

First, the presence of supernatural beings and one or multiple gods.

Supernatural beings influence human lives in a positive or negative way depending on their nature or human actions. An example can be Vodou spirits who can either help the priests and priestess to cure people or achieve a goal, or can make their lives miserable punishing them due to actions that spirits do not approve of.

Second, the existence of a sacred book (sacred

literature).
The sacred scriptures contains the core of religious beliefs with moral stories which protagonists are pillars of the religion. These heroes are also the emblem of traits and behaviors that followers must pursue.
The Bible, The Qur’an and Bhagavad Gita are the sacred books of Judeo-Christians, Muslims and Hindus.
Third, a figure of power and wisdom.
At the center of each religion, there is a charismatic figure that serves the role of leader to gather and guide followers towards the path that bring them to the ultimate goal.
These figures are either chosen by the supernatural (gods and spirits) or are an emanation or reincarnation of god Itself, such as Jesus, who in Christianity is God in human form, and Lord Krishna, reincarnation of Vishnu.

Fourth, rituals, symbols, sacred days and tabu.

Each religion has a set of religious rituals, sacred days and holidays and tabu.

Religious rituals involve the manipulation of symbols and the reading of sacred literature. The mass, baptism, Eucharist, offerings and prayers are example of religious Catholic rituals.

Sacred days and holidays are dedicated to gods and spirits. In these days, rituals are also performed. Sunday is the sacred day for Christians , Passover is for Jewish, Ramadan is the sacred holiday for Islam and Diwali is for Hindus.

A tabu is defined as “objects and persons that are supernaturally prohibited. May also refer to certain behaviors that would bring about negative consequences through supernatural means” (1). Food like pork for Islam or beef for Hindu are an example.

In general, there are some similarities between sports and religion that can be presented in favor to this argument.

First, the absence of supernatural

beings.
In sports there is no such thing as supernatural beings or gods; however, people venerate and worships some athletes due to their talent, success and charisma. Such people may often become what people call legends, and their memory survives during the years and become font of inspiration and admiration for other, just like saints somehow.
Second, the existence of sacred scriptures, sort of.
There are no sacred literature but, every sport has its own rules and regulations book used to learn how to play in competitions correctly. It is an universal code that every fan and sport followers know, even if in part.
Third, a figure of power.
At the center of a sport there is not a charismatic chosen figure with a leader role. There are many athletes, team captains and coaches that can cover such role though. As mentioned before, sports legend are venerated by fans and followers