When I came into this all male department seven years ago I made the mistake of saying I didn't like football (baseball, yeah). My lead told me that football makes his "life worth living".From August through February I am treated ad nauseum to every play from every game. I absolutely agree that Football is the Established Religion in the Investing Dept. and probably the whole country. I'm still a heretic and am looked on with disdain because of it. Add sports to the list of things you shouldn't mention in company you are unfamiliar with.

It certainly poses a problem for the already emasculated liberal denominations. Typical male Sunday decision: Watch the early game or listen to yet another sermon on the importance of gender neutral language by a lesbian "clergy person."

The football game is going to win.

POSTED BY: SPIDERMEAN2
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come. (Luke 4:18)"

-----------------------

Regarding the above quite, moderns conservatives would say:

"That's okay for Sunday talk, but don't let any of them into the country"

As one who lives in the land where people "cling to their guns and religion and football", I am proud to be a non-believer on all counts. (Stillers? Roethliswho?)

"drop kick me Jesus through the goal post of life"

Why again is it that the Post has this "On Faith" feature? Is it just for stupid topics to gain clicks from those who cling to their guns and religion and football?

The whole "On Faith" feature is disgusting.

ANYTHING that poses a threat to organized [or disorganized] religion, "Sign me up!"

Football and NBA sports are about all that is left to hold us together as Americans. We certainly are much more devoted to football in the fall. This is healthy. Our society is way too polarized by politics.

Previously, it was said, we should not discuss religion or politics at the dinner table. What is left? You got it: FOOTBALL. Just steer clear of climate change.

our father, who art in heaven, without the express written consent of major league baseball ...

I've always been a member of a religious minority, so to see this question asked reminds me of the confusion that is manifest in all protestant denominations. I really hope that most Southern Baptists pay more attention to football than to whether or not people who aren't Southern Baptists can enter into same-sex marriages, but that's not likely to happen. There's your answer.

I think organized religion is just a game. All these people claiming to know exactly what God wants - if we did, we'd only have one religion. Why can't we just live a good life and be nice to everybody else?

oh c'mon SSTK34, people in the old west used to turn out for hangings, beer was served, potato salad ... a good time was had by all.

How limited must be your understanding of history, to think things are any worse today than they've ever been.

"Does America's passion for football pose a serious risk to organized religion?"
-----------------------------------------

I certainly hope so!

Now, if you want to talk about a passion for live concert recording, that's something different. I burn incense on the high places for that.

Our passion for what?
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

In this respect I'm a devout atheist.

Those of us who can take or leave football are Infidels, with all the rights and privileges appertaining thereto.

Humorous but not very original. It's long been a truism that religion is something that Christians do for an hour on Sunday before the football game. The rest of the time, religion is something that Christians use to bash American religious or ethnic minorities.

America is corrupt like the Roman Empire. Football and other professional sports are semi-religious events created to keep the masses happy and blissfully unaware of their misery. America has football just like Rome had the Circuses and the Gladiators and is following the path traveled by Rome. It was a road to the garbage heap.

Christianity is not a single religion. Substantial numbers of Americans are not religously observant. Another significant number is Jewish. Others are Muslims or one of a number of minority religions. The rejection of the idea of a state religion was a major choice of our founders. So the description of America as a Christian nation does not make much sense to begin with.
But, even if that description is accepted, football is far from the major threat that religion is facing. The reality of the modern world is that science has replaced religion as the dominant ideology. It is true that people are not required to kneel in front of science and proclaim their subservience to its wisdom. People can even get by a little with state education policies that try to deny parts of science that they don't like. But any country that wants to defend itself or wants to provide medical care to its citizens has to subjugate itself to science. A backward theocracy like Iran cannot avoid teaching science to at least some of its students.
Even most people who consider themselves religous have already discarded some parts of the Bible that are in obvious disagreement with well established scientific facts concerning the history of life on earth. Other parts of science that are still in the process of being sorted out will pose an even greater challenge to religous belief in the not too distant future. That science may even go so far as to explain the propensity for religous belief in terms of specific genes and chemicals. It likely will establish God as an invention of man rather than the other way around. More broadly we will see human behavior in terms of a chemistry that differs from the way most people want to see themselves whether they are religious believers or not. But the man said "I come not to bring peace but to bring a sword". People will have little choice but to deal with the truth whatever it turns out to be.

I have met people who were members of Assemblies of God congregations who thought you were not a whole man spiritually unless you were a fan of college and professional football.

In the 1970s, I had an AG pastor who was a fan of professional boxing. One Wednesday night after a Bible study several men in the church went to his house to see a boxing match on TV. It doesn't make sense that they like to see men hit each other in the head and knock them out.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come. (Luke 4:18)

The only real "threat" to organized religion that I'm aware of is more people who are capable of thinking for themselves and discovering that freedom of religion means ANY religion, as well as freedom FROM religion!

That having been said, I don't watch football and I'm not Christian, which means that I find Sundays to be a royal pain in the "permanent vertical smile" because where I live, there is very little to do on Sundays if you're not a churchgoer or a football fan! However, my husband watches enough football for both of us, and the kids have already learned not to so much as sneeze when the ball is in play! Unless of course it's baseball season....

Hinduism recognized long ago that we worship lots of gods, although I'm sure worship is the correct word for football. But it is hard to say that we are not loyal to many different dieties including sporting events, money, sex, our group.

Some Americans love "American Football", and some of us could care less, and actually prefer "Soccer" Similarly , some of us could care less about religion, and actually prefer sundays at home.

What an absurd excuse for an article. Did the columnists run out of ideas just before their Sunday deadline?

Hard to decide who I would less rather be with, a Glenn Beck Christian or a Redskins Fan - oh, well, they are usually one in the same anyway.

As Groucho Marx said “sports is the opiate of the masses”.

isn't this why god invented tivo?

POSTED BY: EEZMAMATA | SEPTEMBER 5, 2010 1:15 AM

----------------

LOL!!

Restoring Football !

We can start the heart of America again. And it has nothing to do with politics.

Turn back to the values and the principles that make Football and America great.

Starting today we have a choice. Watch dancing with the stars or watching football.

And starting today we choose Football !

Football and religion only care about winning. Cheating, and other casualties along the way are just the cost of doing business. This mirrors the ethics demonstrated in business and politics.

A silly article.

Barbecuing is not a religion either (to most;) and I'm sure many more people barbecued than went to NFL games.

I thought you were going to take notice of how similar the experience of attending a modern "feel good" church is to attending a football game. You merge your individuality into the mass and unite with others in praise of a hero, team, or Other. All the hollerin' and shoutin' together is energizing and produces a pleasant high from bonding with like minded folks to channel feelings of anger against an enemy and feelings of love toward those you support and praise. It's very cathartic and human beings have been doing it for thousands of years. The cults of sport and religion generate many of the same feelings and benefits, and many of the same moral ideals. Both sport and religion generate a certain amount of anger and destruction as well. They are more alike than they are different.

Organized superstition is still superstition to govern the ignorant masses--football is at least real--regardless, enjoying nature and letting your fellow humans and nature live freely without destroying or controlling either is much more fulfilling, spiritual and "God worshiping" than either. If there were a God as Christian's describe, she/he or it would command totally different behavior than those that follow it in the name of Him but write their own exceptions to fit their desires.

So what do you think? Does America's passion for football pose a serious risk to organized religion.....?
---------------------------------------------

Let's hope so.

The only thing football fans hate is the other team, and that only lasts 3 hours.

On the other hand, many so-called Christians spend their pious lives hating entire denominations that don't believe what they believe. They even rally together to stop others from building houses of worship that don't look like theirs.

I am surprised at the amount of antistatic antipathy toward people of faith. The evils ascribed to religion are more appropriately born by those who distort or pervert religion's original intent.

I read this column because I assumed it was of a serious nature. It is filler and not worthy of the Washington Post. So goes the state of journalism in the waning days of newspapers. I will miss them.

I am surprised at the amount of antistatic antipathy toward people of faith. The evils ascribed to religion are more appropriately born by those who distort or pervert religion's original intent.

I read this column because I assumed it was of a serious nature. It is filler and not worthy of the Washington Post. So goes the state of journalism in the waning days of newspapers. I will miss them.

Football is inclusive.. religion isn't.

The tangible and real is always a threat to the intangible and mythical.

Almost everyone in America has physically held a football in their hands at some point in their lives. If you don't have one in your own house, you can see a football any time you want - just walk down to the neighborhood sporting goods store. Hold one in your hand. Feel it.

It would be pretty hard for anyone to argue that there is no such thing as a football, because the physical evidence for it is so ubiquitous and incontrovertible.

And THAT is something I can worship. Because being real - actually EXISTING - is a big plus for me. I'll choose Football over Gawd any day.

Silly boy. Diversity is our national religion.

This column is quickly headed towards the bottom of my just plain stupid list. The Onion has better satire. This kind of "journalism" is just awful. Does anyone regard this column as anything other than a very bad joke?

And why does the Post, a NEWSpaper, have a section on Fairy Tales, i.e religion, anyway? Where is the news value in discussing other people's delusions? Why not devote more resources to covering science, education, the environment, or anything REAL?

Seriously???
This article is more of a filler than anything else.

the biggest threat to organized religion is rational thought.

Would that 'organized religions' just go away. Imagine the heartache, misery, death, and destruction that would NOT occur if homo sapiens could just throw off this most noxious human 'invention'. There will NEVER be any inter-ethnic peace and harmony as long as human-contrived, male-dominated sectarian creeds divide us into hate-fueled little groups.

I don't think that football poses a threat to organized religion, but apparently many evangelicals do, because they constantly seem to try their best to infuse football with Christianity. Witness all of the incidents of evangelical coaches leading prayer in the locker rooms (they may say it's not mandatory, but if you're on the team...), or the "pointing at the sky" after scoring a TD. And don't get me started on Texas, where high school football is so infused with Christianity that you would think it's an official denomination.

But be careful about basing the argument on numbers. If we take the low estimate of those who consider themselves non-religious in this country (10 percent) that gives 30 million non-believers, which outnumbers any individual Christian denomination, and the total membership of most other faiths in the U.S.

isn't this why god invented tivo?

Anything that poses a threat to theism, organized or not, is a good thing. But fear not, deluded christians, football has a concussion issue that will eventually send it into obscurity aka pro boxing.