Religious Practices as Mental Skills in Sport
摘要
This chapter explores religious practices as psychological skills in sport and their similarities with conventional Psychological Skills Training (PST). Empirical evidence shows that religious beliefs influence athletes’ coping strategies, motivation, resilience, and performance. However, the author reviews Vealey’s framework of mental skills and highlights the secular foundation of most existing measurement instruments. Practices such as prayer, fasting, and rituals function as psychological skills that regulate emotion, enhance focus, and provide meaning, paralleling secular skills like goal setting and mindfulness. In addition, current PST programs remain secular in design and overlook religious dimensions. The chapter argues that religiously informed PST, developed in collaboration with sport chaplains or psychologists, may enhance intervention acceptance and efficacy among religious athletes. Integrating religious coping within PST not only reflects cultural inclusivity but also advances the understanding of mental skills as shaped by sociocultural and spiritual factors. This chapter concludes by proposing culturally sensitive examples of religious PST applicable to Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu athletes.