The Personal and Social Dimensions of Spirituality in Sport.

- Benjamin Muller

Across the world, sport is becoming more popular and widespread, especially here in Australia. Approximately 70% of Australians over the age of 15 participate in weekly sport related activities (Department of Foreign Affairs, 2008). Last year the top 10 highest rating television broadcasts on both free-to-air and pay TV were sport related. The department of foreign affairs describes sport in Australia as “a binding element in the social and cultural fabric of Australia” (pp. 1). It comes as no surprise that many Australians refer to sport as the “national religion” (Department of Foreign Affairs, 2008). With a functional definition of religion, sport can very well be classified as a religion. Austin Cline (2009) describes the functional definition of religion as a belief system which revolves around an activity taking on a prominent role in society or one’s own life. Brian Reich (2001) reinforces this idea in his study of the culture of religion, by stating that sport can easily fulfil the role of a religion if the individuals seeking a spiritual influence allow for it. Obviously this differs significantly from a substantive definition; however it does offer an alternative view, as well as reinforcing the idea that sport can be considered a religion. For the purpose of this essay it will be argued that religious engagement can be divided into two dimensions; personal and social. In the case of sport, the personal side may involve rituals such as training, mental preparation and any other activity related to the goal of an athlete. The social side involves supporting teams and the associated rituals. This essay will focus on these two dimensions of sport. It will be argued that the activities involved in the personal and social aspects of sport can be likened to the personal and social aspects of contemporary religions. The personal rituals undertaken by amateur and professional athletes will be examined and the spiritual and religious significance of these rituals will be detailed. As well as this, it will be argued that there are many similarities between the social activities in sport and other contemporary religions.

The Harvard poet and philosopher George Santayana, describes spirituality as the “aspiring side of religion” (pp.87). Sri Chimnoy, international peace leader, athlete and strength champion describes aspiration as “the ultimate goal…to go to the Beyond, the ever-transcending Beyond. And the ever-transcending Beyond is nothing other than God” (pp. 5). Aspiration is a crucial part of the personal aspects of sport such as training, fitness, determination and success. During the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Trent Dimas from the US Men’s Gymnastic Team, scored a perfect 10 on the horizontal bar finals. It was the final event before the closing ceremony and a flawless ending to the competition. If one were to watch the slow motion replay of Dimas’s performance, his facial expression is one of solitude, happiness and reflection (Ungerleider & Bollettieri, 2005). Steven Ungeleider argues that the success of Dimas and other athletes is largely due to their mental preparation (2005). He conducted a study with psychologist, Jacqueline Golden, involving 1,200 athletes who had qualified for the 1988 Olympic Trials. The athletes were followed during their trials, and the differences between the one’s that eventually qualified with the one’s that didn’t was investigated. It was found that Olympians who were doing ‘mental tune-ups’ as part of their training were more likely to qualify than others (Ungeleider & Golden, 1988). Trent Dimas’s coach emphasised the importance of mental practice, describing it as the “magic of visualisation”, as well as a standard procedure for all successful gymnasts (Ungeleider, 2005).

The spiritual aspect of such mental preparation can be compared to religious rituals such as meditation and prayer. To relieve muscular tension and to relax mentally, breathing exercises and meditation benefit many athletes (Johnson, 2007). NBA star, Patrick Ewing stated that “One hour before the game, I pick a corner of the locker room, put on my headphones, and go into that sacred space” (pp. 38). The idea of entering a sacred space is very personal and spiritual. Ungerleider (2005) describes sports meditation as a method of achieving inner calm while visualising success. Entering a deeper state of consciousness to achieve a sense of calmness in the face of challenges is one of the fundamental aspects of meditation and prayer (Sotilos, 2009). Some people pray and meditate to feel a sense of connection with their God, however many people pray or meditate to find a sense of inner peace and happiness. It can be said that when an athlete meditates to calm their nerves or to visualise a goal, they are undergoing a spiritual experience.

Another example of the benefits of mental training was demonstrated by the late Sri Chinmoy. At the age of 68, he was able to break the world-record, lifting an entire ton of metal using a calf-raise machine. Chimnoy was mastering feats that nobody else was even close to achieving, at an age and with a physique that amazed many. Chimnoy describes his philosophy;

"Age is no barrier. I find that the mind makes us feel we are very old. The moment I use my heart, I am 20 years old again. When we experience deep meditation, we see that spiritual energy is the source of physical, vital and mental energy" (Chimnoy, 2000).

As a spiritual guide for many across the world, Chimnoy encourages physical fitness and sport as a method of personal transformation (Chimnoy, 1978). Chimnoy states that too many people focus on the outer life. Especially in the case of sport, people need to realise that the inner life can also generate strength. His dedication and claim that his sporting achievements are predominately due to prayer and meditation shines light on a clear example that there is a powerful spiritual and religious side to sport.

Similarly to the purpose of religious ritual, many professional and amateur sportspeople engage in exercise to achieve a feeling of happiness, satisfaction and contempt (Tiggemann & Williamson, 2000). Studies conducted by Andrew Newberg and Eugene d’Aquili (2001), found links between religious experience and brain activity in Buddhist monks. The neurological activities associated with their altered state of consciousness were not found to be exclusively associated with religious experience; however the brain activity was related to the happiness and contempt that is felt during any activity which induces similar feelings (Kapogiannis et al, 2009, ). During exercise, athletes may experience a ‘runner’s high’ (Pargman & Baker, 1980). This was studied by Arne Dietrich (2003), and it was found that the experience felt by athletes described as a runner’s high, was associated with altered brain activity in the prefrontal cortex. The results are very similar to that found by Newberg and d’Aquili. Similarly to meditation, feelings of timelessness, peacefulness and a unity of the self or with nature are also felt by athletes when they reach a certain point mentally and physically during exercise (Dietrich, 2003). Scott Dunlap is an ultra-marathon and triathlon racer in the United States. Dunlap keeps a blog, documenting his physical, spiritual and emotional experiences associated with his training and competition. He describes his own experience of the runner’s high as a wonderful meditative state, with a feeling of a connection with the surrounding nature (Dunlap, 2009). Simply put, for Dunlap, running is a spiritual experience.

The scientific evidence as well as the real-life cases of many athletes, supports the idea that on a personal spiritual level, sport can be compared to a religious ritual and experience. As well as fulfilling the personal dimension of religious experience, sport can also reinforce a community’s commitment to the core values of society (Hoffman, 1992). Shirl Hoffman argues that the reason sport is compared with religion on a social level, is due to the excitement and feeling of community it creates within a society. On a symbolic level, sportspeople take on assigned roles; superstar athletes become the ‘Gods’, symbolic clothing is worn and ‘houses of worship’ are the meeting place of millions who congregate to support their team (Albanese, 1981; Edwards, 1973). Catherine Albanese (1981) stated that people participate in and support sport as a community because it gives them pleasure, order and a source of meaning in the everyday world.

In the USA, baseball is a prominent national sport. A book entitled ‘The Faith of Millions’ (Herzog & Evans, 2002), details the way baseball in America can be regarded as a religion. The way that and individual dedicates their emotions and energy into baseball can be compared to the passion people show during religious experience (Hall, 2003). Carl Hall argues that baseball in American society goes beyond a national pastime. Baseball may technically be a secular pastime, however; the rituals involved in supporting a team can be likened to the rituals of a religion. As Albanese (1981) and Edwards (1973) observed, in baseball the similarities between sport and religion can be seen. The stars in baseball take on a ‘God’ figure in sense that supporters have faith in the athlete. Even if their team loses, the supporters will continue to have faith, believing that their team is still the greatest and that they will succeed the next time. Similarly to religion, when a prayer is not answered or an individual experiences hardship, faith is not lost in their Gods. Uniforms become symbolic and sporting stadiums are sacred or hallowed. It becomes an advantage for the home team to play in their own stadium, not only because of the familiarity, but because of the feeling of belonging generated by the supporters. Similarly to religious practice, songs, chants and music heighten the feelings of transcendence and aid the success of a ritual.

Whether or not sport truly can be regarded as a religion is debatable, however the question is not necessarily important. More importantly, rather than fitting in with contemporary religions, it may simply be a new form of religion, an adaptation and continuation of pre-existing religious practices. However, when one adopts a functional definition of religion, it is quite clear that religion does fulfil the definition. On a social level we can see that the dedication and passion shown by a community of supporters is akin to the involvement of any religious group. Supporters take time to go to games or watch on the television, and they have faith in the athletes and feel emotions when their team wins or loses. On a personal level it can be seen that there are definite spiritual aspects in sport. Scientifically it can be seen that there is a similarity in brain activity during meditation and certain moments of exercise (Newberg & d’Aquili, 2001; Davidson et al., 2003; Dietrich, 2003). The statements and achievements made by Sri Chimnoy and the ultra-marathon runner Scott Dunlap, reinforce the idea that there is an important link between spirituality and sport. As well as this, Stephen Ungerleider (2005) shone light on the importance of mental preparation and meditation as part of the training schedule of successful professional athletes. Finally, it can be concluded that the spiritual aspects of sport may best be summarised in the way Brian Reich (2001) described it. The definition of religion is not important, however; if an individual allows spirituality and religion to enter into their life of sport, it will fulfil all the requirements of a religion.

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