The church of baseball is back in the news.

In a city all-too-familiar with a certain curse, the Chicago Tribune explores how baseball and religion often overlap for long-suffering Cubs' fans:

When the Cubs' Starlin Castro cracked a home run in Game 3 of last year's divisional playoff series against the Cardinals, Affan Arain was praying.

Arain, who is Muslim, had excused himself from his seat and found an out-of-the-way spot in the Wrigley Field concourse for his daily evening ritual. The crowd's roar provided an unmistakable soundtrack, and he knew instantly the Cubs had scored.

"In the midst of that prayer," Arain said, "I prayed there would be many others."

The Cubs went on to hit six home runs that night, a postseason record.

For Arain, like many Cubs fans of all religious persuasions, baseball and faith are inseparable. While prayers are the most visible sign of this connection — queue the close-up camera shot of a fretting fan in the stands, fingers interlocked and head bowed — the spiritual connection between loyal fans and their team often runs deeper, emerging in more subtle expressions of devotion.

"Perseverance, loyalty, faithfulness, long-suffering — those are the things that we talk about in our lives, and those are the things that we need when we cheer for the Cubs," said Sister Ann Terese Reznicek, a nun of the Congregation of St. Joseph and a Cubs fan.

Keep reading, and the Tribune quotes John Sexton, author of the book "Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game."

Additional Cubs fans quoted include both regular folks and academics, such as a religious studies professor who is the son of a Baptist minister.