Why the Olympic Games are a ‘civil religious’ ceremony with a global congregation

By Terry Shoemaker, Arizona State University

Fans are getting ready to watch top athletes from around the globe compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics, which start in Paris on July 26. Accompanying the athletic events will be a display of patriotic symbols such as flags and team uniforms featuring countries’ colors. The host country will mark the Summer Olympics ceremonies with cultural events.

But why are people so drawn to the Olympic Games?

As a scholar who studies connections between religion and sport, I argue that this interest comes from what sociologist Robert Bellah called “civil religion,” or devotion to one’s nation-state as a form of religious allegiance.

Indeed, the entire Summer Olympics can be interpreted as a civil religious ceremony with a global congregation every four years.

What constitutes civil religion?

Focusing attention on civil religion within the United States, Bellah observed in 1967 that there were “certain common elements of religious orientation that the great majority of Americans share.” These elements included, but were not limited to, the moments when Americans belonging to different religious or nonreligious affiliations would gather for shared rituals and customs. The collective lighting of fireworks on the Fourth of July across the country is one such annual civil religious practice.

During these events, Americans often display their civil religious devotion under the guise of mere patriotic duty. Other shared rituals include watching the inauguration of an incoming president, whether in person or around a television. Some Americans may want to ensure that younger generations know the importance of “sacred texts” such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. There may be those who undertake “pilgrimages” to Washington, D.C., to view the national buildings and monuments.

Shared histories of the American Revolutionary War, Civil War and World War II are also key to civil religion. The idea that Americans’ ancestors gave their all for the survival of the country’s democratic experiment creates a common bond among citizens today.

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