Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / Prayer is Regularly Debated in Schools, But What About Sports?

Prayer is Regularly Debated in Schools, But What About Sports?

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | Sep 13, 2019

No Comments

The separation of church and state is regularly debated in schools across America, but what about the separation of church and sports?  Team prayers and experiencing a moment of silence are two examples where student athletes may find themselves conflicted, especially if their religion (or lack thereof) is different from the coach and rest of the team.  Unlike other extra-curricular activities, including band and theater, sports seem to regularly involve religious messaging, prayer, and moments of silence.  Is prayer OK in sports, or should coaches become more sensitive to changing attitudes and times and respond by creating  sport environments completely devoid of religion?

Examining differing opinions

When it comes to where religion fits within schools (and specifically, sports), you might begin with the opinions on each side of the debate.  Starting with the polar opposites, one side argues religion should be a major part of of the experience, while the other side sees no place for religion.  Between these positions is the grey area where most people reside, with varying acceptance of some kind of religious presence.  Some folks seem to be OK with a passive moment of silence, but not as comfortable with coach-directed specific prayers.  As you might imagine depending on the people involved on a sports team, opinions can vary dramatically with respect to how much religion will be integrated and accepted within the group.

The silent, passive participants

Simply because people remain quiet and appear to go along with something doesn’t necessarily mean they accept and/or agree with what is happening in their company.  Stanley Milgram’s original obedience to authority studies have revealed that people will not only sit passively under duress, but will even engage in activities that they find dangerous (in the case of the Milgram studies, believing that they were actually administering dangerous shocks to subjects).  Parlaying these findings to sports and prayer, we can safely assume that some student athletes who participate in prayer do not want to, or may even feel there will be negative consequences if they don’t.  Still, most end up going along with the group in order to avoid team disruptions or being viewed by the team as an athlete not fully on board.  The big takeaway here is that simply because someone participates in something, we shouldn’t assume they are in full agreement.

Today’s student athletes

Some reports today show that fewer people than ever before are ascribing to any kind of a religion, and the number of people claiming to be atheist is rising.  Just as people in America are afforded the right to choose their own religion, others are equally afforded the right to not practice religion at all.  What may seem innocuous to one person (i.e. a short moment of silence), may be found to be forced and disrespectful to another person.  Over the years I have had student athletes tell me stories about how some college coaches use their religious beliefs as a primary decision-making variable when recruiting future athletes, with otherwise talented student athletes losing potential opportunities because their religion (or lack thereof) doesn’t match with the coach.  How do we move forward and safely integrate religion, yet allow for non-religious types to comfortably opt out without fear of stigma or losing playing time?

Final thoughts

For whatever the reason, prayer in sports has become more accepted than any other school-related extra curricular activity offered to kids today.  Even with the separation of church and state, there appears to be a distinct cut-out for sports and what coaches are afforded by means of leading kids in prayer.  Will these special accommodations for religion in sports remain for the indefinite future, or will there be greater efforts to remove all forms of prayer from school sports?

drstankovich.com

 

church, Coaching, prayer, psychology, religion, sport

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Latest Blog Posts

  • March 22, 2023 Nature or Nurture? Exploring the Psychology of Sport Success
  • March 20, 2023 Morning Sports Practice Before School is Becoming the Norm, but is this Healthy for Kids?
  • March 14, 2023 Understanding Intelligence: Putting Knowledge into ACTION!
  • March 13, 2023 3 Important Tips for Today’s Multi-Sport, Youth Sport Athlete
  • February 26, 2023 The Most Important Sports “Ability” Might Surprise You

PREVIOUS POST

The Top 5 Signs You Might be a Sports “Head Case”

NEXT POST

Why Sport Retirement is So Difficult, Including for Many Kids

Category

Amateur , Athletic Department , Athletic Director , Leadership , Off Field Issues , Parent Training , Prep , Sport Philosophy , Sport Psychology , Sport Sociology , Sports Culture and Society , Sports Leadership , Sports Parenting , Sports Performance Science , Uncategorized , Youth Sports

Tags

church, Coaching, prayer, psychology, religion, sport

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • Nature or Nurture? Exploring the Psychology of Sport Success
  • Morning Sports Practice Before School is Becoming the Norm, but is this Healthy for Kids?
  • Understanding Intelligence: Putting Knowledge into ACTION!
  • 3 Important Tips for Today's Multi-Sport, Youth Sport Athlete
  • The Most Important Sports "Ability" Might Surprise You
  • The Psychology Behind Breaking Bad Habits
  • What has Happened to Free Play and Recreational Sports for Kids?
  • The Importance of Efficiency Applied to Success & Productivity
  • The Most Important Sports "Ability" Might Surprise You
  • Accident Prone & Forgetful? Poor Stress Coping May be the Reason
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1395 Grandview Avenue Suite 6, Columbus OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482
    Media & General Inquiries
    information@drstankovich.com
    Sales & Product Support
    sales@drstankovich.com
  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2023 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓