How evangelicals and others see God’s providence in The Big Game vs. Trump’s election.
Is the God who reigns over Election Day also in charge of Super Bowl Sunday?
White evangelicals are twice as likely to say God plays a role determining the outcome of the presidential election than determining which team wins major sporting events, such as this weekend’s faceoff between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots.
While 71 percent saw God’s hand in Donald Trump’s victory, just 36 percent recognize him as playing a role in The Big Game, according to a new poll by PRRI. Among all religious groups, nonwhite Protestants (41%) were most inclined to say that God determines who wins in sports.
Around an earlier Super Bowl, theologian William Lane Craig told CT how God’s providence rules all of life’s details, but not all rise to equal significance. “Christian virtues will be of overriding importance,” the Biola apologist said. “Lower in priority will be, for example, the number of wins that you get in a season or the number of passes you catch or complete.”
Americans across all faiths were more likely to believe God rewards individual athletes for their faith rather than determining the fate of an entire team, PRRI researchers found. Almost two-thirds of nonwhite Protestants (65%) and white evangelicals (62%) say God grants success and good health to the Tim Tebows of the world, compared to about half of Americans overall.
Ed Uszynski, who works with Cru’s sport ministry, Athletes in Action, resists the notion that wins can be seen as God blessing faithful athletes. He wrote for Desiring God:
We quickly devolve into silliness when forced to imagine God wearing a particular jersey … or that he is somehow predisposed toward one major institution or …