ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the overlaps between religious and sporting vocabulary. The application in one domain of words we associate primarily with the other works in both directions. Just as St Paul wrote of having run the race to the finish and popes talk about sport, so today’s secular mass media use words such as ‘atonement’, ‘hell’ and ‘redemption’ in their headlines. The parallels go beyond rhetoric. Some are inspired by the feats of Olympians and other sporting champions, some by the lives of saints. Applying the lessons of an Olympic champion and weightlifter to our daily lives might seem implausible, but the story of Hidilyn Diaz, who won the Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold medal in the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games, held eventually in 2021, is one that involves both the athlete training her body and the spiritual support of her nation. The religious roots of the modern revival of the Olympics are traced as are the religious connections of grassroot sport, taking the example of the friendly, Sunday cricket club. At all levels, there is much to learn about discipline, abilities and disabilities through participating in, or observing, sport and reflecting on what to include in lexicons of faith in sport.
