Religion has been part of Olympics since its beginning

You can find religion most everywhere in life today — politics, culture, entertainment, economics and sports. That includes the Olympics.

The games in Milan-Cortina are halfway done. As we watch the competitions in Italy, it’s a good time to recall the pivotal role religion played in the creation of the ancient Olympics, and how it influenced the modern revival.

When created in Greece in 776 BC, the Olympic games were part of a religious festival in honor of the Greek god Zeus. Along with the athletic events, which were dedicated to him, there were sacrifices to Zeus and athletes and spectators took part in religious rites during the competitions.

Athletes also invoked the gods, with winners interpreting their success as a sign of favour from the gods — not unlike how some athletes today thank God when they score a touchdown or game-winning goal.

But if religion was central to those ancient Games, it was also the reason for their demise.

In AD 393, Christian emperor Theodosius banned the Olympics, along with other Greek and Roman festivals. The reason? They were too pagan. His successor, Theodosius II, went a step further in 426, ordering his army to demolish Olympia’s stadium.

It wasn’t until the 19th century that Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France came up with the idea for the modern Olympics that we know today. He proposed reviving the Games as a way to use sport to promote world harmony and unity.

At a meeting in Paris in 1894, delegates approved forming what would become the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896.

Religion infused de Coubertin’s vision for the new games. In his memoirs, he wrote that he saw sports as “a religion with its church, dogmas, service … but above all, a religious feeling.”

In a 1935 radio address, two years before his death, he asserted “the first essential characteristic of ancient and of modern Olympism alike is that of being a religion.”

By that he meant that sport, and especially the Olympics, could function like a religion by bringing people from around the world together through shared values, rituals and symbols that could give meaning to life — like religions are designed to do.

For de Coubertin, the purpose of this non-theistic religion of sport was to inspire people to higher goals of mutual respect and peace through shared human ideals — but through competition, not through doctrine and creeds.

And there was a hymn, too! He included a song known as the Olympic anthem. The lines include a request that the “immortal spirit of antiquity, whose beacon lights our way” go on to “emblaze our hearts with the fires of hope, on this momentous day.” The anthem is still played at the start of each Olympic Games.

We don’t hear much about the religious roots of the Olympics, and these days, religious stories from the Olympics are relatively rare. But they do crop up occasionally. One of the most well-known was in 1924 when English sprinter Eric Liddell refused to race on a Sunday—a story told in the movie Chariots of Fire.

More recently, there have been religious flashpoints with some Muslim athletes seeking accommodations to wear hijabs during competitions or, in the case of beach volleyball player Doaa Elghobashy, a request to wear full-coverage attire.

Then there is the subject of fasting during Islamic religious festivals. The Olympics does not adjust its schedule to accommodate the religious holidays of Muslim athletes. However, when the 2012 London Olympics overlapped with Ramadan, organizers made sure dining facilities in the athletes village were open before dawn and after sunset for Muslim athletes.

The Olympic Village at Milan-Cortina recognizes the Muslim need to pray by providing prayer spaces. They can be used by people of other faiths, too.

The Roman Catholic Church is also involved, with the Basilica of San Babila in Milan designated as the “Church of Athletes” for the duration of the Games. It is hosting masses and religious activities during the Games. An Olympic and Paralympic Cross has also been erected by the church in that city.

In her speech at the opening ceremony for the 2026 winter Olympics, IOC president Kirsty Coventry spoke about “ubuntu,” a word that is used in Zimbabwe where she is from. It means, she said, “I am because we are. That we can only rise by lifting others. That our strength comes from caring for each other.”

It’s a spirit she sees in the games, reminding people, “We are all connected, that our strength comes from how we treat each other, and that the best of humanity is found in courage, compassion and kindness.”

Adherents of the world’s religions would certainly agree.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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