One-quarter of Americans say God will determine the outcome of the Super Bowl: poll

Football fans sometimes “pray for a miracle,” while others vouch for the “Hail Mary pass.” A new poll, however, reveals a faith-based role in America’s biggest game of all.

One-quarter of Americans say that God will determine the outcome of the Super Bowl according to PRRI, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group.

There were significant disagreements among Americans about the role God plays in sports by religious background. White evangelical Protestants and non-white Protestants are “more likely to see the hand of God in the outcome of sporting events” than any other religious group, the poll said. Four-in-10 non-white Protestants and more than one-third (36 percent) of white evangelical Protestants believe God plays a role in determining which team wins.

Fewer white mainline Protestants (25 percent), Catholics (25 percent), and religiously unaffiliated Americans (9 percent) believe God plays a role in determining outcomes on the field.

About half of the public — 49 percent — believe God rewards athletes who have faith with good health and success; about as many (47 percent) disagree. Again, there’s a faith-based difference.

Non-white Protestants (65 percent), white evangelical Protestants (62 percent), and white mainline Protestants (59 percent) are more likely than Catholics (48 percent) and religiously unaffiliated Americans (29 percent) to believe God rewards faithful athletes with success and good health.

Can a team be cursed? Some people think so.

Two-thirds of Americans consider themselves to be a fan of a particular sports team. Among those fans, 1-in-5 say they believe their team has been cursed at some point, while more than one-quarter (28 percent) say they have prayed for God to help their team.

There are notable differences between male and female sports fans. Men are more likely than women to believe their team has been cursed (24 percent to 15 percent, respectively. Women are more likely to report having prayed for divine intervention to help their teams — 31 percent to 25 percent for male fans.

Few people fault a player for thanking God after a team victory. The survey found that half of Americans approve when athletes express their faith publicly by thanking God during or after a sporting event. Only 4 percent of the public express disapproval of an athlete expressing gratitude to a higher power. Another 47 percent of the public say such displays don’t matter to them one way or the other.

White evangelical Protestants are the biggest fans of athletes’ public displays of religious; 8-in-10 approve of athletes thanking God during or after a game, compared to 69 percent of non-white Protestants and about half of white mainline Protestant and Catholic.

“Only 18 percent of the religiously unaffiliated say they approve of these types of acts. However, only four percent of religiously unaffiliated Americans express disapproval of athletes thanking God; 78 percent say this behavior does not bother them,” the poll analysis noted.

The survey of 1,013 U.S. adults was conducted Jan. 18-22.