Sports and Religion
Definition of religion
History of relationship between religion and sport
Primitive societies, Greeks, Christianity, Reformation
Focus on Christian Religions
Commonalities between sport and religion
Places for communal gatherings
Practices are related to personal betterment
Evoke fervent commitment from millions of followers
Proverbs, values, expressions
Have rituals before, during, & after events
Have heroes and legends
Can provide deep personal meaning
How Religion Uses Sport
Churches
Services to congregation and communities
Religious Leaders
Virtues of sports competition
The Promise Keepers
Religious Evangelizing
Sports as recruiting tool
Colleges and Universities
How Sport Uses Religion
Magico-religious techniques allay tension
Prayer
Protection, good performance, outcome of game
Prayer in public educational institutions
Clergy
Magic
Rituals—standardized actions
Taboos—strong social norms prohibiting actions
Fetishism—revered objects believed to have magical
power
The Challenges of Combining
Sports & Religious Beliefs
For Athletes
Deciding if and when the use of violence
and intimidation is appropriate in sports
Dealing with the emphasis on selfpromotion and the aggressive pursuit of
personal success that comes with playing
power and performance sports
Resolving doubts about the worth of sport
participation as an act of worship
Resolving contradictions
between religion and sport
Research shows that Christian athletes use
one of three strategies to resolve doubts
Focus on ascetic aspects of sports
Play sports as before, but
Ignore moral questions
Use sports to give witness and evangelize
Focus on good works and service off the field
Give priority to religious beliefs by
Changing behavior
Playing pleasure & participation sports
Withdrawing from sports
Adapting Religious Beliefs
To Fit With Sports
History shows that when religious beliefs
are combined with competitive sports
Sports change very little, if at all
Religion becomes “muscularized”
It emphasizes discipline, duty, and selfrighteousness rather than stewardship, social
responsibility, and humility
Winning, obedience to coaches, and
improving skills become moral virtues
Sports and Religions
Around the World
☯ Studies are scarce
☯ Studies are difficult because some major world
religions make no distinction between the
religious/sacred and the secular/profane
dimensions of everyday life – they see them as
one and the same
☯ Studies are needed to understand relationships
between various religious beliefs and
Ideas about the body
Participation in physical activities and sports
Prominent World Religions
and Sports
☯ Buddhists and Hindus focus on physical and
spiritual discipline, and transcending the self
☯ Muslims focus on submitting to Allah’s will
☯
Gender ideology based in Islam has implications for the
conditions under which women and men play sports
☯
Some women athletes challenge traditional Islamic
beliefs about the body
☯ Shinto is a system of rituals and ceremonies that
set the rules and traditions of Sumo
☯ Native Americans have animistic religious beliefs
that merge the spiritual and physical worlds