The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a New York town could continue its practice of starting public meetings with a prayer. In a 5-4 decision, the court cited tradition as one reason for allowing the prayers. Our Running Debates this week takes on the similar topic of whether group prayer is appropriate at the start of a running race.

Yes. It's not a waste of time, and it's not unconstitutional.

By Jim Warrenfeltz

There are a number of criticisms of pre-race prayer. Here are a few of the most common, and why I believe they don't hold up.

To those who say it makes them uncomfortable: Does it make you uncomfortable when people wish you good luck? Or that they hope you do well? Because a prayer before a race really is just about the hopes and wishes of a community, for a good race, strong times and everyone to stay healthy. A public prayer may not be how you would express such wishes, but not everyone has to conform exactly to how you would do things. Enjoy it as local flavor, instead of being offended as a personal attack. It's not about you.

To those who say it is unconstitutional: You are incorrect. Unless the running race is publicly funded, it is not covered under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment as people often like to claim it is.

To those who say it is a waste of time: Perhaps, but let me introduce you to Pascal's Wager, which basically says "But what if I'm wrong?" Even if there is no God, your pre-race prayer hasn't cost you anything but a couple minutes of time. And, those minutes may not have even been completely lost; multiple studies have found that meditation and visualization can help improve race performances, and a bit of enforced quiet contemplation just before a race is the perfect time to clear the pre-race jitters and focus on the core goals of the race.

No. It offends more than it accomplishes, and might water down the value of prayer.

By Scott Douglas

I'll start by noting that I'm a seminary graduate, so I hope those with an open mind will believe I've spent a lot of time thinking about the role of religion in public life. I'll also note that one of the things I most value about my 35 years as a runner is how our sport spurs questioning conventional notions, whether that's what constitutes fun, what a 50-year-old man should look like, or what non-running ceremonies are appropriate at races.

I'm not sure what mandated public prayer outside of a religious setting achieves that's not possible via individual prayer, while I am sure it potentially offends many people. There are, after all, many agnostic and atheist runners, as well as many who consider prayer a private matter. As runners, we rightly celebrate our sport as a unifying force.

There's also a good theological argument against such prayers. The idea of God in various faiths is inherently different; otherwise, there wouldn't be different faiths. Many of the strongest opponents of practices such as school prayer are religious leaders, because they think the necessary broadness of enforced public prayer waters down the concept of deity to near meaninglessness.

Alberto Salazar once said, "Standing on the starting line, we're all cowards." If prayer is appropriate or useful in that context, let's leave the decision to individual runners rather than a race committee.

Your Response

We tallied up your votes and found that most of you – 62% to be exact – say races shouldn't begin with a group prayer. 1,550 voted no, 983 voted yes.

Scott Douglas Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times.

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