Performers gesture towards the Olympic rings as they are elevated from the stadium floor during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 27, 2012, in London.
Jae C. Hong, Associated Press
Our take: An interesting look at how the Olympic movement has navigated religion from ancient times to the current London Games.
A 600-foot footrace was the only athletic event at the first Olympics, a festival held in 776 B.C. and dedicated to Zeus, the chief Greek god.
For the next millennium, Greeks gathered every four years in Olympia to honor Zeus through sports, sacrifices and hymns. The five-day festival brought the Greek world together in devotion to one deity.
Read more about religion and the Olympics on Religion News.
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Matt writes about faith how it is lived, how it intersects with society and how current trends affect religious practice. He returned to reporting and writing after more than 12 years as an editor, most recently a more ..
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