Do you think that people who are religious are more likely or less likely to enjoy martial arts/martial culture?

There was another thread on here related to mysticism in the martial arts that touched on this topic...

On the one hand martial activities evolve largely based on what works. ...Darwinism in action.

On the other hand there is the way in which we dovote ourselves to our master, to the ideals and the mysticism of the art. ...similar to the principles of faith.

For those who might be interested in my assumptions or background: I am an athiest.

Thoughts?

I think to a great extent this depends on the religion in question. Zen Buddhist thought plays a role in many martial arts philosophies. So would a student of zen be more inclined to be a student of martial arts? Perhaps...
How about a Christian? The prevalence of "Christian Martial Arts" associations I think is an attempt at a compromise between two seemingly opposed philosophical traditions. Now, is this a necessary compromise? I don't think so. But let's explore this just a bit. Meditation, devotion to a master, mysticism... These are things many Christians take offense at in the martial arts. "Before I send my child to your school, I want to make sure he isn't going to be learning any religious 'chi' kinda stuff," is sadly, not an uncommon thing to hear in the martial arts instruction industry. As I stated before though, I don't think the divide here is really that significant. Some of my best friends in the martial arts also happen to be devout Christians, and they don't have to compromise either the art or their own beliefs to be so. Realizing the difference between tradition, ceremony, etiquette, etc. and religious practice is an important one. Martial arts is not religion. So would a Christian be less inclined to be a martial artist?
How about Judaism, Islam, Wicca, or Hinduism? How do the martial arts relate to these particular paths? Are martial techniques "Darwinism in action"? That one I'm not too sure about, but I might be able to accept it based on the ways in which martial arts have adapted to fill a new niche in our society in order to survive. The modern student of martial arts does not study in the same manner as, or for the same purpose, as did those before.
I think enjoyment of martial arts and martial arts culture, as with any activity, is related to a myriad of factors, faith and personal beliefs among them. We must be careful not to generalize, however.

I am a Christian, I practise HDGD and I enjoyed it very much. Well, there are some in my circle who viewed people like me to compromise the faith. Well, they are entitled to their own opinion and usually I just stated my reason for practising HDGD and explain I can balance the two.

In fact, even if there is any so called " Christian HDGD association" around, I will not join in into the bandwagon straight away. I will study every aspect of it and personally I will ask myself " Why do they want to do that? "

During practise, and especially in meditation , I always set a time for a little prayer saying that I practised not for glorification of myself ,but glorification of HIM thru the strengthening my body and my will.

I do not ridicule those Christian who are against martial arts , because they did that simply for their love of the Lord, which for me perfectly understood by me, despite they may not understand my motivation

In Indonesia, practitioner of the native martial arts " pencak silat" and its derivatives, usually invoke the prayer of Islamic prayer, saying that the strength is originated from Allah, which I understood thats the how the Muslim practitioner are trying not to commit " Musyrik" meaning " Placing his or her own ego and strength , replacing Allah who is the giver and source of strength". Then again some Muslim practitioner did not invoke anything at all,infact quite percentage practitioner of Folk Islam , may also attribute the strength in their Martial arts from their own bodies.

The Balinese Hindu ,they too invoke hindu prayers to certain deities. This was proven during Balinese War Of "Puputan", where they fought bravely against the Dutch Colonialist soldiers. Of course , many died being shot at, invoking prayers did not make them bullet proof, but to seek divine approval for their deaths would not gone to waste, that was to protect their land and families from Colonial rulers.
As far as I know,the Balinese martial artists though they are not many, but giving the nature of spiritual Balinese, they will tie to their religion and beliefs. ( Btw, the Hindu in Bali is slightly different from the Indian continent Hindu, too great to b detailed here)

Well these are my thoughts,

As Johan pointed out, some martial arts styles are inherently religious (e.g., penjak silat and various other SE Asian martial arts, kalarippayattu, various West African martial arts, Katori Shinto Ryu, etc.), that is, religion is a part of the system. Always was. Just as Shingon Buddhism was favored by the samurai in old Japan, some martial arts seem to be allied with religions due to "visions" of the founders and/or it's just nice to have a god or two on your side when you're going into battle. We don't usually go for that in the West and tend to view any religious elements as "philosophical" elements (e.g., Zen). This may be partially due to our interest in martial arts being as civil combative disciplines rather than as holistic life styles or Do, and the fact that they first came to us as fighting styles and were fairly devoid of the religious elements.

I don't think that religious affiliation, or lack of it, has mush to do with practicing martial arts, at all, in the West. Even thos mentioned, above, have been sanitized for our consumption. However, I do find that I feel closer to my God when I am practicing martial arts. Being a Christian, I find no contradiction in affiliation.

Eric Littel, the "Flying Scottsman" Olympic gold medalist featured in the film, "Chariots of Fire" (who later became a missionary to China), said of his sport and his love for God, "When I run, I feel His pleasure."

I think there is a depth of joy that can't be found anywhere else or in anything else, other than in your 'calling' (whatever that might be). There are some things that we each enjoy and excel in because to some extent, we were created for that purpose. For some reason, martial arts has a part in that picture for me (and apparently, for some others here as well).

The maestro violinist Stephan Grapelli once said, "Great musicians are like priests, they are thinking only of their God."