A new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute (in partnership with Religion News Service) reveals that *way* too many Americans still think God has a vested interest in their favorite sports team:

About 1-in-4 (26%) Americans and 27% of self-described sports fans say that God plays a role in determining which team wins a sporting event. About 7-in-10 Americans (71%) and sports fans (69%) disagree. Minority Protestants (45%) are more likely than any other religious group to believe that God plays a role in determining which team wins a sporting event. More than 3-in-10 white evangelical Protestants (32%) and Catholics (31%) believe that God plays a role in determining which team wins a game. Only about 1-in-5 (19%) white mainline Protestants and 9% of the religiously unaffiliated believe God has a hand in the outcome of sporting events.

The survey also found that church is only slightly more popular than football on a given Sunday:

On any given Sunday, 25% of Americans say they are more likely to be in church than watching football, while 18% say the opposite — that they are more likely to watching football than to be in church. One-quarter (25%) of Americans say that on any given Sunday they are likely to be doing both, while 32% say are not likely to be doing either.

The numbers aren’t actually too far off from where they were last year. Still disturbing, though, that people think this way.

On a another note, I think this means Roger Goodell has done more than Richard Dawkins to lure people out of church. Forget the New Atheists. Long live the NFL.



