Religion in the NHL

[kook10]

When compared to other pro leagues, the NHL seems on its face to be entirely secular. You just don't hear players thanking God first when interviewed like you do elsewhere. To me it is nice, but why do you suppose this is? Are the players themselves much less religious, or does the league get involved and instruct the players to stay mute on the issue? Is it because other sports draw more from the religious US South?

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[ShootIt]

Wait for Rocco Grimaldi. Tim Tebow clone.
He's very religious on social media, or was anyways.

 

[Ryp37]

Players are just more hush about it

Guys like Booth and Doan are, I believe Doan actually keeps some text from the bible on his stick

 

[EA Sports GM]

"We didn't go to church on sundays, we played hockey"

 

[mindfly]

The eastern-european players are very religious, orthodox christianity is a big part of their life and who they are.

 

[beertelescope]

One of the reasons I like the sport more than others.

 

[Gritty]

These threads always turn ugly...

 

[Kurtosis]

Awaiting move to politics board.

 

[Peter Tagli Eddie]

I went to a Christian Hockey Camp in Winkler MB.

It was hosted by..... The Grim Reaper (Stu Grimson).

LOL... I'm not even religious. It was fun tho. Ray Neufeld was there too.

 

[BonMorrison]

because hockey players are more intelligent than other sports athletes.

So it begins...

 

[HOLDITHERE*]

There is only one God in Hockey.

 

[sjci]

I think the players just view it as a more personal issue, than making public statements like the other professional leagues

 

[starling]

The most religious senators prospect I remember had a concussion at 18 that ended his career.

Maybe gods have something against hockey

 

[Cursed Lemon]

Probably because hockey is a more conformist sport than the others in America, so the team IS your church.

 

[nitz]

I know that Reimer and Fisher both take their religion quite seriously.

 

[GTA]

Players just don't get overly personal during interviews, religious or not. That being said, players tend to come from regions with much less religiosity than say, football players and that tends to tranfer to those players as well

 

[londonHK]

I think it's because a lot of the players in the NHL are Canadian, and Canada has traditionally been quite "secular" in the public sphere, compared to America, for example. For example, most Canadian politicians don't talk about their religion, or thank God, in public speeches, whereas many American politicians do.

Just to clarify, I'm not saying one way is better than the other. I'm just noticing a cultural difference, that's all.

 

[jmart21]

I think this is largely driven by the proportions of US and Canadian born players in each sport.

There are certainly more religious folk in the US than Canada and they are often very devoted. I'd be willing to bet that a larger proportion of Americans are "religious" than Canadians. As I haven't seen any stats on this though, I won't proclaim it to be true but at the very least the staggering population difference between Canada and USA tells me that there are more religious people there.

 

[rangers91*]

the only god or deity i believe in are the hockey gods

 

[BonMorrison]

the only god or deity i believe in are the hockey gods

-tips fedora-

 

[intangible]

Budaj, Reimer, and Ward all had religious stuff on their helmets at one point or another. I've seen a few players kiss the cross on a necklace they wear, but other than that it's been pretty secular, and I hope it stays that way. None of that homerun "look to the skies" junk, Tebowing, or outward displays. Let's keep it to hockey and leave it at that.

 

[hototogisu]

This may be a valid question but I don't see how it's going to end without people getting offended and the thread turning into a giant debate on religion, which is not what this forum is for.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

This topic never ends well.