I s football as important as religion? Bill Shanklin famously said

I









s football as important as religion?

Bill Shanklin famously said:

'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.'

For some people the love they have for their football team is so strong that they would describe it as a religion. In fact, there are many connections between football and religion. Not least, that what religion you are may affect which team you support. Using the UK as an example, this lesson will explore the relationship between football and religion as experienced in some towns and cities in the UK.

You will discover that not only is there a link between football and religion but also that football has become a global phenomenon.

Task One

We will begin this lesson with some information about the football supporters in two large British cities: Manchester and Glasgow. Read it and then answer the questions that follow:

In both Manchester and Glasgow there are two main football teams. They are fierce rivals, and strongly supported by their fans on both sides. In the past there was much violence between the clubs. In each city, local people and local press explain the rivalry as being on the dedicatedness of the football supporters and the division btween the clubs along religious grounds. Manchester United and Celtic are both Catholic football clubs. Manchester Cityand Rangers are both Protestant football clubs.

The bond between these clubs is so strong that Manchester United and Glasgow Celtic even have a joint football supporters club.

But why the religious connection? One explanation is that the supporters of the clubs are passionate because they relate their football fanaticism with a religious affiliation. The relationship between these cities and Catholicism is largley due to their geographical location. Both Manchester and Glasgow are close geographically and through transport links to Ireland. They are both long established ports. There is a large Irish community in each of these cities and the Irish migrants tended to be Catholic, escaping persecution by Protestants in northern Ireland.

Manchester United were the first English side to sign an Irish professional, and a large section of their support was drawn from Manchester's large Irish community - football was something that gave them a common bond, a bond formed on the terraces. That was underlined by the fact that, when they changed their name in 1902, they very nearly became Manchester Celtic.
The bond with Ireland grew as Manchester United continued to use players from Ireland in the 1950’s. The club would even go to watch church teams play to sign new talent. It was only when George Best, a Protestant from Northern Ireland, joined the club that it became clear that they were not solely a Catholic club.
This link continues today, as Manchester United and Celtic still have huge fan bases in Ireland. Glasgow Rangers also draws in a huge number of fans from Northern Ireland’s Protestant community. But football has always been seen in the UK as a working-class game. As traditionally heavy industry was more located in the north of England, some commentators have suggested that the link is more to do with class than religion. These commentators highlight that not only are the working classes more likely to be religious, but also that there are more of them in the north of England.
More recently, all the clubs: Manchester United, Manchester City, Celtic and Rangers, all draw in players from around the world, and not just the local area.
From reading the extract above, list the reasons why you could describe Manchester United and Celtic as a Catholic football club?





















Task Two
Of course, there could be many other reasons why people support football teams.
Why do you think people choose a football team to support? You can discuss this with your class.












Task Three
So far you have a number of reasons that could explain why Catholics seem to support some football teams and Protestants support others. But is it possible that these football teams have such big followings because people in the north of the UK are more religious than in the south?
Look at the data in the table below. This data was taken from the European Values Survey. Participants were asked if they believed in God, and if they attended church, and which religion they considered themselves to be. The answers are in the table below. You may need to consult a map of the UK in an atlas to see where the 11 regions are.

	No religion (percentage)	Roman Catholic (percentage)	Protestant (percentage)	Other (percentage)
North East	22.6	5.2	64.2	8
North West	6.4	12.8	70.9	9.8
Yorkshire & Humberside	24.9	9.5	52.7	12.9
East Midlands	15.5	4.4	65.5	14.5
West Midlands	4.6	16.1	62.6	16.8
Eastern	32.4	8.5	47.2	11.8
London	22.2	18.1	24.5	35.2
South East	5.9	14.5	70.6	9
South West	11.5	19.3	57.7	11.5
Wales	27.8	4.4	47.7	20.1
Scotland	21.5	16.8	55.4	6.3

Data taken from 1999 European Values Survey.
Look at the table and make a list of the most religious places, and the least religious places:

Most religious places in the UK	Least religious places in the UK

Answer the following question:

Are the people who live in the north more religious than other people in the UK? Are they more likely to be Catholic?

You can test this theory by looking at the map of the survey results from across Europe. Are the best footballing nations of Europe the most religious?

Task Four

Now evaluate what you have learnt today. At that start of the lesson we suggested that there was a link between being religious and being a football fan. Does the evidence suggest that such a link exists?

Could you suggest a better theory for the reason why some people choose to support a football team?

Evaluation Questions (for Pupils):

This activity has been exploring the relationship between being religious and enjoying football. What have you understood that you did not already know?

What did you like about this work? Please explain why.

What did you dislike about this activity? Please explain why.

Do you have any further comments?
Teacher’s notes

Aims:

This assignment aims to explore the concepts of space and identity through looking at football allegiance and how religious people are. The focus of the assignment is on the UK, but it does discuss some famous football teams which many students will be familiar with.

The outcomes of the assignment:

Students will explore reasons why individuals support football teams and relate this to whether people in the north of the UK are particularly religious.

Age of Students:

The level of reading required for this assignment makes it suitable for older students (15-16 years). The activities could be used with younger students but the text may need to be adapted.

How many lessons:

This assignment is designed to be completed in one hour lesson. For a shorter lesson, the last task may be omitted (although it is the only one that uses a map from the Atlas of European Values). The other tasks follow on from each other and so need to be undertaken in order.

Notes for the teacher:

This assignment focusses on how religious people are in the UK, and the often quoted relationship between being religious and supporting certain football teams. Although there are historical reasons for why some clubs have mainly Catholic supporters, and some Protestant, these are largley due to migration (from Ireland) rather than religious allegiance. However, the myth is still very common in the UK and particularly in sports reporting.

The lesson contains all four sections of the curriculum framework. Students begin by reading a passage that suggests a link between club support and religious allegiance, they then relate this to their own experience. In the later stages of the assignment they use data from the European Values Survey and one of the maps to investigate how religious people claim to be. Finally, the students evaluate their learning, and in line with argumentation, suggest a new theory. It would be useful for students to have access to an atlas that has a map of the 11 regions of the UK.

It will be useful at the end of each Task for the class to discuss their answers and results. This will depend on time availability.

Answering Model:

Task One:Students use the text passage to explore possible reasons why people support certain clubs. These may include connections with the Irish community, allegiance to Irish/Catholic players.

Task Two: In this task students will explore their own reasons for supporting a team. This may include the team’s success, the proximity to where they live, or family allegiance.

Task Three: In this task students should note that the north is not more or less religious than other parts of the UK. It does not even have more Roman Catholics than other parts. Of course this data is regional and it may be that looking at the difference between urban and rural areas, or data on a smaller scale would show different patterns. Students may also consider that recent migrants to the UK from the EU might also describe themselves as Roman Catholic.

Task Four: Students will have their own answers to this task.

Clare Brooks – IOE, London