At the time of this writing, in early October, there are rumblings that Tim Tebow could unseat incumbent Mark Sanchez as the New York Jets’ starting quarterback. Are we in for another round of Tebowmania?
A quick recap for the uninitiated: Tebow wears his Christian faith on his sleeve, proudly referencing it in interviews and displaying it in his now-legendary habit of kneeling to pray on the football field (resulting in the meme of all memes: Tebowing).
Now, I’ve never met Tebow but in the interviews I’ve watched and the anecdotal comments I’ve heard, he comes off as very genuine in his expressions of faith – which puts him in stark contrast to the legions of pro athletes who seem to sprinkle their postgame comments with references and thanks to God because they think doing so will burnish their images.
Beyond the obvious, who, exactly, are they trying to impress? Their wives and girlfriends? The owners of their teams? Potential sponsors? And for every person who appreciates their piety, how many more are turned off?
Display how they pray
With that as a backdrop, I read with interest a press release that crossed my desk last month from Phoenix-based Grey Matter Research on a study of Americans’ reactions to athletes who display how they pray.
The firm surveyed a demographically representative sample of American adults to gauge their responses to several different types of religious expression. As taken from the press materials, they include:
Athletes from opposing teams gathering on the field or court after a game for prayer. Of those surveyed, 55 percent feel positively toward this, 32 percent don’t care one way or another and 12 percent feel negatively.
Athletes speaking up about their faith in interviews after the game (such as saying, “I want to give God the glory for this”). Fifty-two percent feel positively, 29 percent don’t care and 20 percent feel negatively.
An athlete making a religious sign (such as kneeling in prayer or pointing toward heaven) after making a big play: 49 percent feel positively, 34 percent don’t care and 17 percent feel negatively.
Athletes suggesting that God helped them or their team accomplish something (such as saying, “God really gave me strength out there”): 43 percent feel positively, 31 percent don’t care and 26 percent feel negatively.
The wrong path
When the responses of religious Americans were isolated, it turns out they’re not as positive as one might imagine toward expressions of faith among professional athletes. So, if the athletes are trying to impress other religious folks, they may be straying down the wrong path. “On average, although a majority of people who attend religious worship services have a positive reaction when pro athletes express their religious faith, about 36 percent don’t react positively,” said Ron Sellers, president of Grey Matter Research, in the press release. “In fact, only 37 percent say they tend to have a very positive reaction to these expressions of faith.”
At the same time, Sellers noted, Americans who are not religious usually have a less-negative reaction to these public expressions of faith than might be expected. “Among Americans who have no particular religious belief or identification, on average, just 29 percent tend to react negatively to things such as on-field prayers or giving praise to God in a post-game interview, while almost as many – 23 percent – tend to react positively to this. Even among people who are atheist or agnostic, only half generally have a negative reaction to these expressions of faith, while 12 percent actually react positively and the rest don’t much care.”