We all have heard it said that sport is like religion. The annual cycle of sporting events mimics the yearly sequence of rituals by which traditional religions transform “profane” time and space into “sacred” moments and places. Such regular and repeated experiences lift athletes and fans alike beyond everyday concerns.

Clearly, most team sports elicit a sanctity between the players and their fans. However, there is more to connect sport and religion than transcending daily life. If we focus less on team sports and more on sport as an individual challenge, personal faith appears on the horizon. Sport is a call to spiritual adventure.

Knowing when to rejoice is one thing, but wisely knowing when to give up trying is another. Such is the journey of faith, the grist of a human spiritual life. Being Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Sikh or any other kind of religious practitioner is, from this point of view, somewhat beside the point.

Ritual, coming to terms with failure and suffering, and facing one’s own mortality create faith and transcendent experiences. Religion does not have a monopoly on these experiences – under the right circumstances, sport can become a powerful secular spiritual practice.