What Role Does Religion Play In Sports

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The role of religion varies from sport to sport, and in some sports there is no room for religion. On the professional and college level, many teams have chaplains that perform religious services to the players as well as provide other services as well. However, in some sports settings, having a chaplain and talking about religion is more accepting than in other sports. Throughout this paper I will look at the role of the chaplain in the sports environment, the effects this has on the players, and the role that fait has on these sports organizations. Having a chaplain as a part of a sports team creates a unique atmosphere. Sometimes this is seen as coaches forcing their views on their players and sometimes the players appreciate the guidance. …show more content…

In the National Hockey League it is extremely rare that players even bring up their faith. According to the Boston Globe, “While spirituality is on display in other professional sports — with pitchers’ fingers pointing skyward, tattooed crosses adorning NBA arms, words of divine praise in postgame sideline interviews — that’s not the case in hockey. In the NHL, religion is mostly omitted from the conversation, God left unsaid.” Why is it that faith is so wildly accepted in other sports and barely mentioned in hockey? That culture has evolved, albeit slightly. When Laurie Boschman played from 1979-93, hockey ranged from standoffish to downright distrustful of religion. Even now, it’s not always easy to reveal to teammates willing to mock your every move or to a not-always-friendly front office,” according to the Boston Globe. And there’s also the simple answer to this question. The usual explanation is straightforward: The NHL is a league of mostly Canadians and Europeans, cultures that don’t have the enthusiasm for religion found in the American south, whose sons populate the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball,” according to the Boston Globe. Hockey definitely forms from a different group of men and finding a NHL player that is confident in their faith is few and far between. The NHL doesn’t have the support in the form of chaplains that other professional leagues do, the Boston Globe stated, “Twenty-three of the 30 NHL franchises have some form of chapel, according to Hockey Ministries International. However, when all teams were surveyed by the Globe, only two-thirds with a program acknowledged having one. The rest have players who meet off-site without management’s involvement.” Hockey is a growing sport and industry. It is much more popular now than it ever was when I was a child. Perhaps as the sport continues to grow, so will its

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