Keeping with the rhythm of the country we put up a billboard: “Pray like it's 1987”.

The graphic made it clear we were talking about rugby, rather than the stock market. For those unfamiliar with the national addiction, 1987 was the last time the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup. 

I received a phone call from a journalist hungry for a story. “Do you think rugby has superseded Christianity as the religion of New Zealand?” he asked.It took me a while to realize that unlike our billboard he was not jesting. He really thought religion was, like rugby, just another game.

Now rugby has many benefits. At its best it promotes fitness, physical skills, teamwork, and discipline. For fans there is the emotion of seeing one’s team do well, or not.  

When the All Blacks succeed many people feel good about themselves, even if they have never played or know little about the game. It is that feel good factor that the incumbent Government hope will help propel them back into power a month after the final.

 There are some similarities with religion. At its best religion promotes self-discipline, a ‘spiritual-fitness-for-life’. It is also, usually, a group endeavour that requires a degree of teamwork. 

As with anything one cares passionately about, there is often emotion involved. Religion has the ability to make one feel good, or not. Although rare in New Zealand these days, religion has in the past, like rugby, been used by politicians to promote their ends.

Yet there are fundamental differences between rugby and religion that cannot be bridged by imaginative journalism. Religion is about committing oneself to engage with the Divine and be shaped by that encounter. There are no spectators, no fans, no commentators… There are only ‘players’ – those who are engaged. It requires the whole of one’s heart and mind.

The purpose of such engagement is not individual happiness, group solidarity or euphoria, although sometimes these things result. The purpose is rather the betterment of humankind and our environment, building a society where peace, justice, and love prevail, and where all belong and are valued. 

Religion has high ideals. Its aims are far beyond winning an 80minute game.    

When I took that phone call I was momentarily lost for words. There is such a wide gulf between rugby’s goals, admirable though they may be, and the commitment, engagement and vision that religion requires. 

Has religion been regulated so far to the back seat in our education and socialization that people seriously think it’s just another game? Or is it due to the way some Christians play with God, making the Divine an instrument for their gratification?

Maybe we should have put up our second option for a billboard instead: “Thou Shall Not Steal (except from the South Africans)”. 

 I could imagine the Race Relations Conciliator’s office receiving a barrage of complaints, and humorless religious types berating us for misrepresenting the Bible. As it was, the Australians did the deed for us.

The Rev Glynn Cardy is Vicar of St Matthew-in-the-City, Auckland.