Faith in The Olympics

Faith in The Olympics

Is god at the Olympics in Rio? I don’t mean this in the sense of proclaiming “OMG!” after seeing something amazing. (Guilty!) And I don’t mean it in the vague and evasive god-is-all-things-to-all-people-all-the-time-and-everywhere sense. I mean this in the literal sense of micromanaging the outcomes of the events. I mean it in the sense that god is not just attending the games, but personally adjudicating.

Many of the athletes seem to think that answer is yes. In interview after interview, winners of diverse contests have attributed their feats to intercession by god. And not just any, all-things-to-all-people, god. Rather, the attribution has consistently been to their very specific god, draped in the very specific names and trappings of their particular faith.

I find this disquieting. Concerning, even.

Before going further, I hasten to state the obvious: this topic is fraught. Very, very fraught. I am at grave risk of offending, even though I mean no offense. The topic, however, has important ramifications, so I will take the risk.

If offense is really the concern, then consider this scenario. You are devoutly faithful to the religion you and your family call your own. You are watching the Olympics with your spouse, your 12-year-old daughter, and your 9-year-old son. Their hero competes in a signature event, and wins in stunning fashion. An interview ensues.

“Congratulations, Rachel! You just won the ________________ in world record time! What’s the secret of that incredible success?”

“Well, Jim- I attribute it all to my staunch atheism. My devotion to training is undiluted by faith in outside influences and supernatural forces, and it makes me stronger.”

I am guessing that hearing such an interview, you would be horrified. Raising your children to share your beliefs, you would likely object, and fiercely, to their athletic hero exploiting an interview about a foot race to preach atheism to them. You might very well be running yourself, to cover your children’s impressionable ears, but for the fact that you would trip over your chin on the floor.

Yet we blithely abide the tread of just such a shoe, provided it is on the other foot, don’t we?

And, of course, this is not just about faith versus atheism. I rather doubt the parents of Muslim children want prime time exhortations about faith in Jesus deciding the outcome of the decathlon, any more than the parents of Christian kids want soliloquies about Allah picking the winner of the marathon.

The athletes’ faith is their own business, as is any ritualistic expression of it as part of their pre-contest centering. But the attribution of their athletic feats to that faith on worldwide media is everybody’s business, something of a presumption, and another leap of faith in its own right.

For purposes of this column, I tried to find out the distribution of religions among the litany of Olympic gold medalists. I’m sure that information exists somewhere, but I couldn’t track it down. In the process, though, I did find websites advocating for various religions- by highlighting gold medalists among its own. I also stumbled on a heartening suggestion that despite the apparent faith-based-favoritism applied to other sports, and for whatever reason, god is agnostic when it comes to women’s gymnastics: the all-around medalists were Christian, Jew, and Muslim.

The simple fact is, gold medals have been won by every imaginable denomination, and lack of denomination, too. But in the barrage of interviews, in turn reflecting the tunnels through which the vision of our culture runs, our kids and grandkids are being told no such thing. They are being told that a particular faith is the basis for triumph. They are, stunningly, not being told a trip to the podium is about 50 painful hours a week of intensive training; they are hearing more often that it’s about intensive praying.

At best, that’s misleading. While atheists have won medals, too, nobody has ever won one without intensive training. Training is mandatory; praying is clearly optional.

I suppose, ultimately, my concern is that high-profile attributions to differing perceptions of god could prove divisive. The Olympics, conversely, are designed to be unifying. My reflections here are certainly in the service of science and evidence, causal reasoning and public health. Perhaps, though, above all, this is mostly an homage to my own faith in the intended spirit of the Olympics, and in the indelible bonds of our common humanity. Amen to that?

-fin Dr. David L. Katz;www.davidkatzmd.com; author, Disease Proof; founder, True Health Initiative