Sports and Religion in North America

Inspired by Americans’ captivation by sports, Randall Balmer, the John Phillips Professor in Religion at Dartmouth College and member of the Boisi Center’s Board of Advisors, wrote a new book titled, Passion Plays: How Religion Shaped Sports in North America. On October 12, Balmer participated in a well attended lunch colloquium at the Boisi Center, entitled “Sports and Religion in North America,” where he discussed his recent publication and engaged in a riveting conversation about the intersection of America’s two passions.

The luncheon commenced with Balmer’s explanation of how football became America’s game; it conquered, what he describes as, “the three R’s: region, race, and religion.” Football successfully spread to the south because it is a military-style game, and the south is embedded in a culture of militarism. Racial integration–albeit violent–also occurred on the field, which led to the sport’s increasing popularity during the mid-twentieth century. Furthermore, football spread across religious groups. Specifically, Boston College, Fordham, and Notre Dame embraced football as an opportunity to “beat Protestants on the field,” which further contributed to American Catholic identity formation.

The presentation transitioned to exploring James Naismith’s creation of basketball in 1891. As a Presbyterian, the Calvinist ideals of seeking boundaries and limits appears in basketball’s tight court dimensions. Balmer also accredits the game’s rise in popularity to its founding moment. In order to win a basketball game, one must successfully move through a small space without running into other players: skills needed to survive in a rapidly urbanizing society.

Balmer concluded his lecture describing how sports fanaticism manifests itself as a religion for many Americans. Today, church services will be moved so they don’t interfere with sports events; people don’t want to miss a game for Mass, revealing where Americans’ priorities lie. Over the past few decades, religious adherence has decreased while sports fanaticism has increased dramatically–especially among white males. Individuals’ communities now surround sports teams rather than religious institutions.

An enriching Q&A followed Balmer’s presentation; the conversation discussed transcendent moments that occurred in sports, including Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary pass. It also addressed how Americans have transitioned from looking to theologians–such as MLK and Reinhold Niebuhr–to looking to athletes–including Colin Kaepernick and LeBron James–for moral guidance.