Is sport a religion?

Sport unites like little else, says Dr Dan Strange. Our readiness to compare stadiums to cathedrals and pitches to altars offers Christians a unique opportunity to share their faith

The father of the modern Olympic Games took his sport very seriously. “For me sport was a religion…with religious sentiment”, wrote Pierre de Coubertin in Olympic Memoirs (Comite International Olympique). 

Strong words. But perhaps we’re more comfortable with the tongue-in-cheek comment made by former Liverpool FC football manager Bill Shankly: “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”