When the Olympics were first held, religion played a starring role.
“Even the prizes were religious — crowns of olive leaves made from trees in a sacred grove dedicated to Zeus,” Religion News Service reported in 2016.
Religion still matters to many of today’s Olympians, but its influence on the Olympics as a whole is harder to spot.
You’ll have to pay close attention to Olympics coverage over the next two weeks to catch athletes praying before their events or champions thanking God during their media interviews.
Religious athletes at the Olympics
One simple way to track religion’s role in the Olympics is to follow religious athletes on social media and to read or watch their interviews before and after their events.
Athletes who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are among those who have opened up in recent weeks about turning to God for help as they look to make the most of their Olympic opportunities.
“Anything that I’ve accomplished in life or on the track has come from God’s tender mercies and his love for me,” said steeplechaser Courtney Wayment to the Deseret News earlier this month.
Wayment is one of about a dozen Latter-day Saints competing in the 2024 Olympics, according to the Church News.
Many other Team USA stars, including runner Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, swimmer Caeleb Dressel and gymnast Brody Malone, speak regularly about leaning on their faith as they chase their Olympic dreams, as Christianity Today recently reported.
“McLaughlin is extremely outspoken about her faith, thanking God and giving him the glory in almost every interview she has done in her decorated athletic career. Her Instagram account is filled with verses and quotes from Christian books. Among her Instagram highlights are clips of her favorite passages of Scripture and pictures of her Bible filled with underlining and notes to herself,” Christianity Today reported.
Olympic chaplains
Olympic organizers recognize that many Olympians seek out religious resources as they compete, and that’s why chaplains have become a mainstay at the event.
More than 120 faith leaders are working together this summer to provide spiritual support to athletes in the Olympic Village, according to The Associated Press.
“Ordained and lay representatives from the five major global religions — Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism — have been working together for months to set up a shared hall,” the article said. “There, they will provide some worship services, prayers and, above all, a non-judgmental listening ear to any athletes or staff in need, regardless of faith.”
Religious controversy at the Olympics
As Olympic organizers in France work to serve the faith-related needs of athletes from other countries, they’re being criticized for how they’re treating some of their own Muslim athletes.
The United Nations’ human rights office, Amnesty International and other human organizations have called out France for barring its Olympians from wearing religious head coverings during their events, as the Deseret News previously reported.
“France’s current policies with respect to sport, and especially now the Olympics, violate international human rights standards and needlessly alienate Muslims,” wrote Paul Marshall, a religious freedom expert, for Religion Unplugged.
French leaders have said that Olympians representing France must uphold the country’s secularism principle. They will not be able to display religious symbols while competing, although they will be allowed to wear hijab or some other religious symbol in the Olympic Village.