WHAT TEBOW TELLS US ABOUT OUR RELIGIOUS SELVES

PDFs or public displays of faith have long been a staple of American sports, particularly in baseball, where players are often seen crossing themselves while stepping up to the plate. And now the PDF discussion is taking center stage as the Denver Broncos starting quarterback, Tim Tebow, has achieved a modicum of stardom while unabashedly vocal about his faith. His unique style of thanking God is to kneel on one knee and bow his head. He may recite a prayer, I don’t know, but he clearly assumes a prayerful position for a few seconds. In fact, the action has been dubbed “tebowing,” and is increasingly imitated by other athletes and Christians. Tebow also typically begins his postgame interviews by thanking "my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." And with the interview’s conclusion, he will be sure to say, "God Bless."

Tebow was born in the Philippines to parents who were Baptist missionaries. He obviously learned his religious lessons well. And so here he is, playing in the NFL, responsible for turning the Broncos’ dismal record around, visibly religious, and for some, even die-hard football fans who can well-appreciate his skills, his religiosity generates a good deal of discomfort.

The real question here is what is it about Tebow’s religiosity that makes us uncomfortable? He is not asking us to thank God with him. He is not, at that moment, asking us to be Christian. His kneeling on the field is no more ritualistic than the touchdown dance of his teammates. What is bugging us about Tebow?

America is committed to freedom of religion and as such, our government has always been careful to never show any favoritism toward or mandate as official, any one religion. Decades of constitutional debate have lead us to consistently remove prayers, benedictions, invocations, and expressions of faith from public gatherings. In barring all, we have shown favoritism to none. But I wonder if the rule of unintended consequences has not kicked in.

Having succeeded in not showing favoritism to any one religion, we have perhaps inadvertently created an environment that is suspicious or even hostile to religious expression. Instead of allowing an atmosphere in which faith communities can hear each other’s prayers and respect each other for those varied expressions, we have demanded that our commonality rest on the absence, rather than the presence, of God. In ridding these beautiful expressions of religiosity from public view, we miss countless opportunities to develop an appreciation and respect for each other’s traditions. I, of course, do not believe in Jesus as the messiah, but I am moved by those whose faith, however shaped, has influenced them to think deeply about life, morality, goodness, and a host of other issues that are deserving of our attention, and much more of it than they ever receive.

I think Tim Tebow deserves our respect for his religious faith, as do all our friends in faith communities who seek a relationship with God. Now lest you think I believe that Tim Tebow’s faith has moved God to support his team over any other, that’s not possible. As we all know, God is a Minnesota Vikings fan. But that’s a whole other discussion. In the meantime, let’s turn to Tim and say “Go Tebow,” and God bless.