Abstract
The relationships between sport and religion have been examined from a number of perspectives, and parallels between sporting activity and worship are often observed, positively or negatively. Elite sports participants often perform religious gestures and many speak of their sporting performance in terms of their religious faith, including the assertion that it constitutes an act of worship. The authors begin by considering the nature of Christian worship, examining worship as a phenomenon, key biblical and theological ideas, the relationship of worship to sacred places and times, and the relation of worship to everyday life. The self-understanding of elite athletes of faith is then considered, as articulated in interviews collected over several years with one of the authors and in other published statements. This data is then mapped back on to the previously considered ideas of worship. The article suggests that, while the correspondence may not be complete or exact, there is good reason to take seriously the claims of elite athletes of faith that their sporting performance should be regarded as an act of worship.
Highlights
This essay considers the coherence of the notion that sportspersons’ participation in competition might properly be construed as a form of worship
Sunday worship is not an escape from our lives, but it is focusing in a particular moment; in Christian living, we act out the offering of our whole selves which we have articulated in response to bread and wine, gospel story, and sung praise—just as Jesus says that our good works might glorify God
We do not find every aspect of worship noted earlier in an initial overview of the subject in the testimony of elite athletes of faith and our reflection upon it, though some of those missing elements we may find elsewhere in the experience of recreational players and in a more theoretical account of the issues
Summary
This essay considers the coherence of the notion that sportspersons’ participation in competition might properly be construed as a form of worship. It does so by examining what we mean by worship and scrutinizes the testimony of around one hundred Christian elite athletes in interviews with one of the authors, alongside similar evidence from other sources. Does their own understanding of their activity correspond to typical concepts of worship? This article does not attempt to provide an exhaustive account of the subject, but to offer an indicative and reliable impression of the self-understanding of elite athletes of faith
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
