Poll: Half of all American fans thinks God takes sides in football games

Jennifer Harper, The Washington Times

Ronnie Hastie got down on one knee and thanked God to celebrate scoring in a game in 2010, but was penalized by the referee.
Ronnie Hastie got down on one knee and thanked God to celebrate scoring in a game in 2010, but was penalized by the referee.

“Just ahead of the 2014 Super Bowl, 50 percent of sports fans see some aspect of the supernatural at play in sports, meaning they either pray to God to help their team, have thought their team was cursed at some point in time, or believe that God plays a role in determining the outcome of sporting events,” reports a new survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonpartisan, non-profit group based in the nation’s capital.

A fervent 26 percent of the respondents say they have prayed that “for God to help their team”, while an equal number have entertained the notion that their team was “cursed.”

The gridiron tends to bring out this behavior. …

“More than 6-in-10 white evangelical Protestants (62 percent) and minority Protestants (65 percent) believe that God rewards athletes. Half of Catholics, 44 percent of white mainline Protestants and only 22 percent of religiously unaffiliated Americans believe that God rewards athletes who have faith,” the pollster says.

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