Religious symbolism in U.S. sports team names and mascots

Many American sports team names and mascots are based upon or use religious symbolism. The majority are scholastic teams at institutions founded by various denominations of Christianity, both Catholic and Protestant. Saints is the most popular of these names not only at religious schools but public schools. However, the latter are often indirect, the schools being located in places named for saints. The only team name that has become controversial is Crusaders, many having changed in recent years. The term, once associated with protectors of the faith is now also associated with oppression. Many Christian schools use "Knights" as their team names with imagery similar to crusaders, but it is difficult to establish religious symbolism in these cases. There are also a number of teams whose name includes demons or devils, which are mythological creatures from many cultures. However, the devil imagery in sports used by professional sports teams as well as public and non-sectarian schools are an example of the Devil in the arts and popular culture more than religion. There are also a few team identities based upon Norse mythology in popular culture.
Team names and their associated sports mascots are examples of totems in the social sciences; symbols that serve both social and psychological functions with many implicit meanings. The social function is to connect individuals into a community; the psychological function is to symbolize desired qualities with which fans can identify. Mascots are also stereotypes, social constructs which are not always inappropriate when they provide valid, if simplified, perceptions of group differences. Participation in sports either as a player or a fan is a significant determinant of social status for college students, in particular for men. The most popular category of sports mascots are animals, with Eagles (symbolic of America) at the top of the list followed by Tigers, Bulldogs and Panthers (symbolic of aggression). Of religious meanings, only Saints is in the top 100 in popularity with Catholic, Protestant, and public schools represented. However, many Saints teams currently have a St. Bernard dog as their mascot, often portrayed by a costumed performer.
Schools where the boy's teams are Vikings and the girl's teams are Valkyries, mythical figures in Norse mythology
Many Catholic, and some Protestant schools adopted the Crusader for their teams. The University of the Incarnate Word decided in 2004 that its Crusader mascot was inappropriate for its multicultural mission. Corlis McGee, president of Eastern Nazarene College, said, "There's a growing awareness that the connotation of the word has changed, and the Crusader no longer represents the positive message of Christian love we want to share with the world."
Other universities have decided to keep the mascot as a way to honor their histories and constantly remind students to "communicate our desire to bring the good news and cross into every situation we encountered." The remaining college-level Crusaders are Belmont Abbey College (Belmont, North Carolina), Christendom College (Front Royal, Virginia), College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, Massachusetts), Madonna University (Livonia, Michigan), and North Greenville University (Tigerville, South Carolina) who changed their mascot from the Mounties to the Crusaders in 2017.