Beginning in January, the [University de Montreal]'s faculty of theology will begin offering a graduate course titled "The Religion of the Montreal Canadiens." Olivier Bauer, the professor who conceived the course, said that since moving here from Switzerland in 2006, he has been struck by the parallels between Montreal's hockey team and religion. When he saw that the team was about to celebrate its centennial season, he decided the time was right "to finally address the question that nobody dares ask: whether the Montreal Canadiens are a religion," he said.
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Mr. Bauer is persuaded that the Canadiens have the characteristics of a religion, beginning with the devotion of their fans. Since news of the course was first reported in Le Devoir, Mr. Bauer has heard from people saying, "Yes, that is me, hockey is my religion." A young woman commenting on Le Devoir's web site said she considers it a sin to miss a Habs game. Last season, when the team was facing elimination in the playoffs, she said she sought to bring the team luck by climbing on her knees the 283 steps to the St. Joseph Oratory.
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Mr. Bauer also sees significance in the motto that adorns the Canadiens' dressing room, taken from the poem In Flanders Fields: "To you from failing hands we throw the torch. Be yours to hold it high." It is in keeping with the idea of redemption through suffering, and he sees a parallel with Christ on the crucifix. "It's not a club where strength is put forward but rather failing hands," he said. ...
Religion is part of what it is to be human, and we make it the most important part of our lives no matter what form it takes. We tie ourselves to something we consider more important than ourselves, and use it to lift us out of ourselves. For only a few it's church, for many it's politics, and for others it's sports. But it's always something... our passion for religion doesn't need a god as its focus, it just needs belief in a sacred ritual of personal elevation.
Having grown up in Montreal, I understand the attraction; and I guess there are worse things to worship, to work for, than hockey. Maybe, however, if they take this class, Professor Bauer's students will rekindle their cultural memory and re-learn that autrefois, Quebecois used to believe there was a treasure more important, and more uplifting, to tie oneself to, than skates...
