If you look near the bottom of the list, you see the Montréal Canadiens. In 11^th.

Their playoff hopes don’t look great since only the top 8 teams get to go into the postseason and they’re quite a ways back in the points column, so what should their fans do?

According to the Archdiocese of Montreal, they should pray. And to help them out, the Church took out a full page ad in a local paper:

(Paul Chaisson - The Canadian Press)

The Canadiens are purposely left off the list of 15 teams. They’re replaced by “Prions” — French for “let Us Pray” — in the coveted 8^th slot.

Faced with declining church attendance rates, the archdiocese is known for employing slick, clever ads that appeal to the public at large when it solicits funds each year.

“You know, the Catholic church doesn’t have the same means as other advertisers, so they need to make an impact,” said Hugo Leger, vice-president of Bos advertising agency, which designed the ad.

Leger said when people get past the joke, they will find a simple message that encourages prayer: “We just want to remind people that the church exists,” Leger said. “And when we say pray, that could mean for the Canadiens, or an invitation to pray in general.”

Commenters below are quick to point out that the English definition of “prion” is “a protein particle that is believed to be the cause of brain diseases” — which sounds about right, too…

Good thing they’re acknowledging that it’s a joke or else someone might accidentally mistake the ad for foolishly suggesting anyone’s prayers would give the team the boost it needs. If they do make the playoffs, it’ll be because of their talent (or the collapse of a higher-ranked team), not because people clasped their hands together in desperation.

(Thanks to Dorothy for the link!)

More information on the banner is here.

As far as I know, there hasn’t been any real media coverage about the banner…

Also, she loves the Jesus.

Reader Todd asks the same question that came to my mind as I watched the clip:

I give the young lady a great deal of credit for not falling victim to the pitfalls of becoming a fitness model by not succumbing to the pressures of taking legal steroids, but somewhere in all of this, Robin Roberts compliments Anna for wearing her faith on her sleeve and it made me think: I wonder how Robin would treat Anna were she Muslim and doing the same thing, or Buddhist or an atheist?

Anna’s faith is… a bit too Tim Tebowish for my tastes, and maybe I’m being a bit too harsh, but why is it that when people of Christian faith wear it on their sleeve, we instantly elevate their status and, in so doing, belittle the rest?

He’s right, and the implication that Christianity automatically makes you a better person is every bit as slanderous as saying there are no atheists in foxholes. It’s not true and news anchors/reporters should stop acting like it is.

The banner will read “Football beats church anytime – atheists.org.” The banner is scheduled to be in the air from 9:30-11:30 AM local time.

Dave Silverman, President of American Atheists, stated, “We took advantage of a unique opportunity to remind many Americans that their religion is not as important as they like to pretend it is. In many cities around the country the running joke is that football is the most popular religion.”

Mr. Silverman continued, “The banner will be seen by thousands of tailgaters, who clearly agree with American Atheists since they chose to sit on a tailgate instead of a pew. They chose to party with friends instead of praying with preachers.”

Silverman also paid for banners to fly over select cities last July.

Back then, many pilots refused to fly the banners, but there doesn’t seem to be much resistance this time around.

Screencap via atheists.org

That’s kicker Jake Russell of the Ohio State Buckeyes. His bio says that he’s a freshman. When I first came to college, I was still extremely religious, having grown up in an almost exclusively Catholic environment. Meeting people with radically different worldviews was a shock. But it takes a special kind of person, even assuming that sort of background, to wish hate on someone else.

Then again, if you ask Jessica Ahlquist, maybe folks like Russell aren’t so rare.

Greg Lammers, the Missouri State Director for American Atheists, notified the OSU administration of the tweet and was assured that they would investigate immediately.

There is a fine, but crucial, line between hating ideas and hating the person who espouses them. There’s also an important distinction between hating or being disgusted by a person, and acting out of malice toward that person. In a pluralistic society that encourages discourse, those lines need to be crystal clear. From the American Atheists article:

As for Mr. Russell, we hope sir that no one ever asks anyone else to show you some hate. We hope that one day you will learn the pluralism that exists at your school and in your future places of employment and residence [...] Mr. Russell has brought dishonor to his team and to his school. He has disgraced himself by displaying his bigotry in public.

Hear, hear.

Incidentally, a couple of nights ago, Hemant sent a message to roommate-in-question Max Rouse asking for his side of the story. There’s no response yet, but we’ll provide an update if/when we hear back.

This wasn’t always the case – at least, not the way it is today. Before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, most Iranian women didn’t wear veils. They were active in high levels of academia and government, so much so that even the conservative Revolution couldn’t completely erase their involvement. The civil law protected women’s rights, even when it contravened Sharia law to do so. There is a history, within living memory, of liberated women in Iran, and of a culture that fostered their liberation.

But since the Revolution, the rights of women have been slipping away. Faramarz Beheshti‘s 2010 film, Salam Rugby, stands as one more painful example.

In 2006, rugby was growing in popularity among women in Iran. Beheshti, through a friend in Iran’s Rugby Federation, became the official videographer for the women’s team. The title granted him access which would have been otherwise unattainable… just in time for the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ahmadinejad’s regime initiated a crackdown on women’s sports. Beheshti’s documentary about empowerment quickly became a study in cultural and governmental oppression, as communities grew increasingly hostile to the team. Ultimately, the women’s rugby team was forced to disband, under allegations of immorality against the coach and in the face of increasingly draconian laws.

Beheshti discusses the struggles both he and the team faced over two and a half years of filming in a recent interview with the Toronto Globe and Mail. He makes it clear that many Iranians feel a sense of shame about the direction their country has gone – and rightly so. Fortunately, this exact sort of tension is what ultimately drives social change. Beheshti suspects his film will never be shown in Iran, but it still has the power to help make plenty of people plenty uncomfortable.

So far, I haven’t been able to find a way to watch or purchase the film in its entirety, though it was shown at ÉCU, The European Independent Film Festival. If I do, I’ll be sure to post it here. Sports are a venue for women to find community, confidence, and respect. The loss of the rugby team, and any of the other thousand tiny losses that women in Iran experience all the time, should not be taken quietly if we can help it.

Tebow and Jesus on Saturday Night Live

Salon’s Marcus Cederstrom says the odds are against it:

So I ask, what if Tim Tebow were Muslim? How would our society react if during every interview, Tebow said “Insha’Allah” or “Allāhu Akbar” rather than thank his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Or instead of falling to one knee and praying, Tebow pulled out a prayer rug and faced Mecca? A recent study by the Pew Research Center suggests it would not be well received. While American Muslims in general tend be satisfied with their lives and communities in the United States, 55 percent report that being Muslim in the U.S. has become more difficult since Sept. 11. Twenty-eight percent report that people have viewed them with suspicion and 22 percent report having been called offensive names. The TLC show “All-American Muslim” has lost advertisers who were pressured by groups claiming that the show was Islamic propaganda. Yet Pat Robertson claims that the United States is a breeding ground for anti-Christian bigotry.

…

… as Tebowmania makes its way into politics, sports, religion and the everyday life of the mainstream United States, it is important to think about how we approach religion in this country. How we approach religious freedom in this country. Do we accept freedom of religion, any religion? Or do we accept freedom of Christianity?

I would argue a Muslim athlete would still fare better in the public’s opinion than an atheist athlete: Better Christianity than Islam; better Islam than nothing at all.

(Thanks to Garrison for the link!)

(via the New Yorker — Thanks to Janice for the link!)

It’s no great leap to say that children and teens admire and emulate figures like Bieber, fellow musician Demi Lovato, and Tebow. In a culture that values piety as a signifier of moral character, outspoken Christianity both brands these figures as safe role models and cushions them from criticism:

“It’s not bad brand marketing,” explains Ann Neuman, the editor of The Revealer website at New York University’s Center for Religion and Media. “Bieber’s godliness makes him particularly safe and acceptable to tweens and their parents.”

Neuman also says the juxtaposition with God also sets these celebs up as martyr figures, which is even more appealing to their fans.

“It’s hard being a multi-million dollar sensation. You can have an off game, poor reviews and you’re constantly in the public’s critical eye. Having God in your corner means that he loves you even when you drop the ball or bomb a concert,” Neuman said. “It also means a devoted audience for your product of fellow believers and a ready parable for both success and failure.”

Do I think that hordes of football-playing and music-loving tweens are rushing to adopt evangelical Christianity? In a word, no (although we’d need some sociological studies to say so with certainty). I’m not concerned that Tebow is indoctrinating a generation of teen godbots. The influence of a pop icon, though significant, is only one of many strong influences in a teenager’s life.

No, what concerns me most is that these figures reinforce our cultural assumption that this kind of piety is the pinnacle of virtue. The teens in question are growing up seeing the media fawn over the superior moral character of Tebow, Bieber, and the rest, and regardless of whether they opt for that level of religiosity themselves, they will continue to assume that pious people are to be trusted and religion is above reproach.

Religion doesn’t deserve a free pass. It deserves to be questioned and evaluated like any other worldview, and it certainly doesn’t confer the assumption of integrity on its followers. That’s the message that teens need to hear.

So no, I don’t think the religious convictions of a Tebow, a Bieber or a Lovato will cause an uptick in baptisms. But I do think they could perpetuate a society in which evangelical Christian mores run unchallenged and unchecked. Therefore, it’s our job to be good examples for the other side, and to loudly and consistently challenge the idea that religion equals morality.

It’s also our job to giggle at the entire CBS Sports crew Tebowing.