Declaration Looks at Role Sports Play in Faith

It is a scene that is quite common in sports – a wide receiver or running back in football will score a touchdown, and after coming to a stop, drop to a knee and bow his head; or a hitter in baseball will hit a home run, and after crossing home plate, point to the sky.

More and more, athletes are displaying gestures of faith in response to a moment of athletic achievement. This begs the question as to what role faith plays in sports – or perhaps, more importantly, what role sports play in faith.

That is the question that Calvin College kinesiology professor and men's golf coach Brian Bolt and 10 others attempted to address at gatherings around the country over the past two years.

What the 11 coaches, scholars, and theologians came up with is the Declaration on Sport and the Christian Life, which was recently released to media sources as well as colleges around the nation. By going to the website, people have the chance to sign on to the declaration.

Among other things, the declaration states:

• Sport has a legitimate place in the Christian life.
• Sport touches all dimensions of human life.
• Sport can be a means of spiritual transformation.
• Sport has many benefits but they are conditional.
• And we do not control whether God favors one player or team.

So far, the declaration has been sent to a few notable figures in sports and theology, and Bolt says the response has been good.

"It is a declaration that comes from people that have been following, thinking about, participating in, and writing about sports and Christianity for some time. We are intrigued by the sport and Christianity connection, and are largely concerned with some of its trends," said Bolt.

"It's about how sport has become symbiotically connected to faith, and because of that, how the two have become cheerleaders for each other. We love sport, but there are all sorts of distortions along the way that have caused us to be concerned."

One of those distortions is the way that sport can, at times, dictate the lives of athletes of all ages whose sport takes up weekends via tournaments and week days with practices and night games, regardless of what they replace.

"Like anything else, sport can become an idol, and we've seen several indications where it has – and I think that pastors, churches, Christian schools and organizations, and just about every family has to sort through how to deal with sport and their faith together," said Bolt.

"So we're hoping that this declaration prompts discussion and provides some grounding for reasoned decisions going forward."

Bolt says the the group that drew up the declaration largely came together through networking and conversations at conferences where the idea for a declaration was launched.

The declaration was developed over a two-year period at meetings in Raleigh, N.C.; Waco, Texas; and most recently in Grand Rapids, Mich., sponsored by the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship.

The group that wrote the declaration felt that sport does have a place in Christian life – but Christians can't be afraid to ask questions regarding its position.

"We have a strong feeling that sport has a legitimate place in Christian life, but we're just concerned that the powers that have driven sport from the youth level all the way up to the professional level have exerted such an influence over the past 50 years that we would  not recognize its connection with the church before that," said Bolt.

"Historically, the church has been somewhat critical about sports – or at least concerned that sport was going to invade faith life in a way where faith is reduced. Today, sport is so alluring and powerful, that a lot of Christians don't even feel comfortable questioning its place or raising objections." 

Bolt says those who wrote the declaration hope that it “provides an opportunity for Christians and Christian institutions to challenge the status quo and to ask challenging questions about sport and its place in modern Christian life."