Athletics & Religion in Georgia

In some places around the country it is difficult to disentangle religion from other activities - as a consequence, people who don't belong to the majority religion feel slighted. It's even worse when this is done in the context of a government service or field.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on the confluence of religion and sports in Georgia:

Buford coach Dexter Wood leads a team prayer, an activity that could be unconstitutional if participation is not voluntary. Caught in the middle are players who can wonder if their playing time or advancement depends on taking part in a prayer they don't believe in.

But how voluntary does it feel? Can Wood guarantee that he never shows the slightest favoritism towards those who participate, even unconsciously? If not, then what he is doing as an officer of the state is wrong.

At Milton High School in Alpharetta, the football team — including Jewish players — hold hands and recite the Lord's Prayer before kickoff. "We want some kind of unifying factor on our team, and this is one of them," said coach Theo Caldwell, who described himself as Christian. "The kids want to do it, and I'm in favor of it. I don't know all the legal issues, but as a team, basically the Lord's Prayer is a way of expressing faith in one another in their own faith."

So, now the Lord’s Prayer is just a rallying cry for a football team? When religion and government are mixed, religion is usually demeaned — and this is a good example of that.

Before Milton's first game, its opponent, Osborne in Cobb County, walked with interlocked arms to the center of the field before the game for a prayer led by its coach. The tradition is a "pride thing" for the team, one player said. "It keeps our priorities straight," Osborne's Tukombo Abanikanda, an All-Cobb linebacker and wingback, said of the prayers. "No one has ever had any complaints. To my knowledge, all of our players are Christians."

First, just because a person is a Christian doesn’t mean that they would approve of such actions. Second, could it be that he doesn’t know of any non-Christians (or dissenting Christians) because they don’t feel comfortable enough or welcome enough to speak up? When a particular religion is shown obvious favoritism by government officers, it can be difficult for minorities to speak out and risk be alienated. That’s why strict government neutrality in religious matters is important.

The tradition in Georgia of broadcasting Christian prayers before public high school games ended after a marching band member at Douglas County High School sued in 1986. Saxophone player Doug Jager refused to take off his band hat and bow his head for the invocation, a school tradition since 1947. "His peers began pressuring and harassing him to participate in the religious ritual," his father, William Jager, recounted on an Internet site that focuses on atheism. "Not to participate in the prayer was showing disrespect."

That’s exactly why so many minorities and dissenters won’t speak out — Jager was unusual in what he did. That’s also the sort of situation which strict government neutrality can avoid. When the government endorses particular religious beliefs and practices, those who don’t participate aren’t just thought of as weird, they’re thought of as being less than equal in their citizenship.

For some devoutly Christian coaches, faith can't be separated from their leadership. They feel obligated to see to the spiritual development of their athletes. Georgia Tech football coach Chan Gailey, who speaks widely about his Christianity, said he doesn't "force anything on anybody."

Actually, these people are hired for their coaching abilities, not their evangelism efforts. If they can’t assume a government-paid job without abusing their authority to promote their religious beliefs, then they really should go find another job — like as a missionary, which is obviously the sort of thing Gailey really wants to do.

“Everything is voluntary and optional," said [Fellowship of Christian Athletes] regional director Dicky Clark, a former Bulldogs defensive end and coach. "Even though we are a Christian organization and we don't back down from that, we know that there are students of Muslim and Jewish and other faiths, and we try very hard to make everything we do on a voluntary basis. We don't push anything on anyone. If someone felt that we did, we would want to get that corrected." Clark said religious pressure would be more apt to happen on a small team like the 45-member cheer squad at Georgia than on the 100-member football team.

It’s nice to see that he recognizes that even “voluntary” activities can take on a very non-voluntary atmosphere in small group settings — especially when the activities are being led and encouraged by an adult leader, like a coach or teacher. Others quoted in the article don’t seem to recognize that at all, which is very sad.

Read More:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Church and State News
• Religion in Public Schools
• School Prayer