In a new poll asking Americans if they believe God plays a role in determining which team wins at a sports game, a surprising number said He does, and that He rewards players for their faith.
The Daily Mail is reporting that the new poll, conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, found that one in four Americans believe God “plays a role in determining which team wins” at a sports game.
More than half believe “God rewards athletes who have faith with good health and success.”
The poll, which was conducted by telephone between January 16 and 20 with a random sample of 1,033 adults, found that people who believe God plays a role in a game had certain characteristics. For instance, they tended to live in the South (36 percent) and to be a minority Christian (40% vs. 38% for whites).
Twenty-nine percent of Catholics said they believe God determines who wins a game and 56 percent say He rewards players who show their faith.
“In an era where professional sports are driven by dollars and statistics, significant numbers of Americans see a divine hand at play,” said the institute’s CEO Robert P. Jones to CNN.
According to these poll results, this means a large number of Americans will be adding prayer to their “to do” list before this weekend’s Super Bowl matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers.
And more than half say they won’t be offended if they see expressions of faith from players during the big game. In this weekend’s line-up, they’re likely to see some sign of faith from Ray Lewis who has regularly thanked God for his team’s success this season.
On the other side of the field, viewers may get a glimpse of the Scripture tatooed onto the shoulder of 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
“The first one I got was Psalm 18:39, a scroll on my right shoulder,” Kaepernick has said about his tattoos. “The verse is, ‘You arm me with strength for battle. You make my adversaries bow at my feet’. Basically, it’s saying the Lord is giving me all the tools to be successful, I just have to go out and do my part to uphold that.”
May God bless both teams this Super Bowl Sunday!
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