The Matildas: Sport as Public Religion

Last Tuesday I was at Sydney Airport. It was the morning after the Matildas won 2-0 against Denmark at Stadium Australia. The airport was awash with people wearing gold and green soccer tops. Saturday night's quarter-final saw the Matildas break TV rating records, being the most-watched event since Cathy Freeman won gold at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

There is far more going on here than just the rise of female sport, or soccer over other sporting codes. In our secular and pluralistic society, sport is filling the void of shared public religion.

Durkheim (1858-1917) believes religion provides the shared beliefs, values, symbols and stories that allow a disparate group of people to become one people, sharing one culture. It is the ‘glue’ that holds them together.

Modern Australia has sanitised itself of public or civic religion. Religions are now perceived as facilitating tribalism and oppression, not unity and fraternity. The causes are multi-factorial, but our society increasingly feels divided as we struggle and split around sensitive topics. In such a moment, the FIFA Women's World Cup has brought Australia together in a way we haven't seen for years.

Identity is presently both craved and elusive. This is not just an issue for women and Barbie. It's an issue for our nation – given multi-culturalism, our strained relationship with first nations peoples, and post-colonial guilt, it is unclear what it means to be Australian. Identity is both individual and corporate. We find ourselves both by looking inside and around ourselves. We yearn to be part of something bigger than ourselves. These past few weeks, we have felt good about being Australian – because the Matildas were winning games and smashing records.

I love sports. I just completed my 47th season of competitive soccer. I have enjoyed years of exercise, friendship, and affable rivalry and competition. Oh, and I do like winning and scoring goals. But to ask sport to be more than this is to turn a good thing into an idol. Idols inevitably disappoint, and take more than they give.

By all means, get on board the Matildas bandwagon. But we will only find our meaning, values, and identity in deeper wells than sporting field, and in more inspiring figures than athletes.

By Rev. David Rietveld