Informative article on the long history of athletes thanking God on the playing field:

The invocation of God and Christ in the world of sport has reached epidemic proportions – not at all by accident. Indeed, there is a rich history to this curious union. Race, gender and national (as well as international) politics intertwine as various religious individuals and causes have used the public space of sports to preach their message. Sport, on the other hand, has used religion to sanction and solidify its various reputations.

This topic has an interesting tie-in to our earlier discussion about the gender imbalance in American Christianity: the combination of God and sports was part of a conscious effort by Billy Sunday and others to “masculinize” Christianity and demonstrate that the Christian life wasn’t “effeminate” and passive.

This 19th-century “Muscular Christianity” trend sounds like something I should learn more about. Sure enough, here’s a Christianity Today piece on this movement and its relationship to American sports. I love it when I learn something new.

update: More related discussion over at GetReligion.