Baron Pierre de Coubertin often described Olympism in terms of a modern religion—the religion of sport with the Olympic spirit as its animating force. He was a Catholic throughout his life, but he borrowed from Ancient Greece and the Enlightenment to develop a humanism with sport at his heart.  He often spoke of the ‘religio athletae,’ a modern concept of an athlete who embodied the spiritual values of Olympism. 

This quote comes from ‘Olympic Letter VII: The Recipe for Becoming Olympic,' which Coubertin published in the Olympic Review in 1918. 

“Now we have gone from Olympism to the Gospel. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ commands the Good Book, in teaching the paths of salvation. Rejoice in humanity that is constantly being reborn, advises Olympism. Have faith in it, pour out your energy on it, mix your hopes with its. Egotistical joy is not an intermittent sun. Altruistic joy is a perpetual dawn.”