"I love the sense of satisfaction that I get when I’ve done a swimming workout or race, and know that I gave my whole being and heart to God in every moment of the swim. It’s the best worship I can offer him."
'Favourite Pew or Seat? Sabbath Beliefs as a barrier to Sporting Event Attendance on Sunday
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A Congregational Study', Waller, S.N., Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 2009, : 21, 2: 1-15.
A 10-item Sabbath Beliefs and Practices Scale was administered to 100 respondents as a part of a congregational study designed to investigate how beliefs about the Christian Sabbath influenced sport spectatorship on Sunday.
They were from Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Dayton, Ohio, within a 90-minute drive of which are several major professional sport franchises including the Cincinnati Reds (baseball), Cincinnati, Bengals (football), Columbus Blue Jackets (hockey), Indianapolis Colts (football) and Indiana Pacers (basketball), all which compete on Sunday afternoon. Approximately 350 people participating in one of two worship services on Sunday morning.
The church’s articles of faith includes: “We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day, or Christian Sabbath; and is to be kept sacred to religious purposes, by abstaining from all secular labor and sinful recreations; by the devout observance of all the means of grace, both private and public; and by preparation for the rest that remaineth for the people of God”.
The author notes that some church members have jobs which require some Sunday work and also poses the question: Does dinner at a restaurant and attendance at an R rated movie on Sunday constitute “sinful recreation?” If not, does attending a sporting event on Sunday violate the intent of the Article?
Research Questions were:
(1) Do Sabbath beliefs and 3ractices d practices differ between congregants that attend sporting events on Sunday and those that do not?;
(2) Do Sabbath beliefs and practices differ among congregants who believe attending a sporting event on Sunday is a “sinful recreation” and those who do not?
(3) Does length congregants’ church membership their the perception that attending a sporting event on Sunday is a “sinful recreation?”!
(4) Is there an association between congregants’ perception that attending a sporting event on Sunday is a “sinful” leisure pursuit and congregants’ source of this belief (bible, church doctrine, or personal belief)?
Key findings included: (1) a strong relationship between belief (that attending a sporting event on Sunday was sinful) and source of belief (the Bible, a church doctrine personal belief); and (2) a significant difference in Sabbath Belief and Practices Scores as a function of length of membership in the congregation. Tine results suggest that these congregants would find ways to negotiate religious constraints and attend sporting events on Sunday.
Some results
A higher percentage of congregants (61.8%) indicated they attended sporting events on Sunday, compared to 38.2% that indicated they refrained from doing so.
The belief that attending a sporting event on Sunday constituted a “sinful recreation” (53.9% and’ 46.1% No)
Discussion
In spite of this general agreement on the biblical and doctrinal positions on the Christian Sabbath, a degree of dissonance appeared to exist with respect to attending a sporting event on Sunday.
The majority of congregants in the present study found ways to affirm their shared theology while exercising a rational choice to attend a sporting event on Sunday.
The majority of the congregants who attended sporting events on Sunday acknowledged that this leisure pastime represented “sinful recreation.”
One possible explanation for this apparent contradiction may be that the “offense” was perceived non-serious in nature compared to other “sins.” Put another way missing church to attend a sporting event on Sunday did not carry the same weight as committing adultery or murder.
Conclusions
The purpose of this study was to the extent to which how doctrinal beliefs about the Christian Sabbath influenced congregants’ perceptions of the appropriateness of attending sporting events on Sunday. Based on the results it might be concluded that while church congregants may agree on basic doctrinal beliefs, they can differ with respect to the practice of attendance at sporting events on Sunday.
The results may also point to the declining power of doctrinal beliefs as “shapers” of leisure choices and behaviours.
The results illustrate a firm belief in the biblical and theological import of Sunday as the Christian Sabbath among congregants.