Sports and Religion

Religion and SportsRELI 2850

Chidester, Baseball Coca-Cola, and Rock N Roll1. Baseball ensures a sense of continuity

in the midst of a constantly changing America

2. Baseball supports a sense of uniformity, a sense of belonging to a vast, extended American family that attends the same church.

3. Baseball represents the sacred space of home.

4. Religion of Baseball represents the sacred time of ritual.

Christianity

• Protestant Christianity

• Evangelical Christianity

Protestantism• Originated from Reformation• Four Types– Mainline (e.g., Lutheranism)– Anabaptists (e.g., Mennonites)– Restorationists or Evangelical– Nontrinitarian (e.g., Jehovah’s Witnesses)

• Five Tenets (Sola)– Christ Alone– Scripture Alone– Faith Alone– Grace Alone– Glory to God Alone

• Sacraments– Eucharist (Presence at Lord’s Supper) and Baptism

Evangelical Movement

• Four Defining Characteristics– Conversionism, conviction that

lives need to be changed– Activism, expression of gospel– Biblicism, particular and

constant regard for the Bible– Crucicentrism, focus on the

Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross

Civil Religion

Set of quasi-religious attitudes, beliefs, rituals, and symbols that tie members of a political community together.

Relationship Between Sports and Religion

• Sports Conflicting with Religion• Sports Comingling with Religion• Religion Conscripting Sports• Sports Co-opting Religion• Sports Supplanting Religion

Sports Conflicting with Religion

• Sports denounced because it was associated with evils

• Gradual popularity • Sabbath bans enforced on

sports later lifted• Shift in the 1960’s to Sunday

Football

Sports Comingling with Religion

• Muscular Christianity Emerged• Traditional Christianity

blended with sports• Church sponsored sports • Missionary opportunities

through sports

Religion Conscripting Sports

• Religion uses sports to explain theological concepts

• Mormons and baseball• Stadiums used for church services• Baseball teams with sole intent to missionize• Christian players understood as role models

Sports Co-Opting Religion

• Prayer used to win games• Locker room worship to unite players• Sports uses religious language

Sports Supplanting Religion

• Academics understand sports tied to religion

• Play and ritual relational• Both sports and ritual create

another “world”

Born Again Sports

• Link between Evangelical Christianity and Sports

• Two examples:– The Fellowship of

Christian Athletes– Athletes in Action

Assessment of Born Again Sports

• Athletes usually have history of evangelical Christianity

• Sports used to convert un-churched

• Total Release Performance• Supporting athletes

Aitken’s Argument

Aitken states that Born again sports has contributed to the ongoing process of secularization by reducing religion to magic where secularization is interpreted in a deeper philosophical sense as a reduction of sensitivity to the sacred or supernatural. Here we need to make a distinction between religion and magic. Religion binds people to the sacred and to sacred things: magic uses occult practices to influence everyday events. Religion is concerned with transforming life to a higher plane; magic is primarily concerned with controlling events in this world. Aitken argues that born again athletes use prayer much like magic thus trying to influence the outcome of the game

Three Basic Positions

• Sports and religion are completely separate. Sports is more like work than religion.

• Sports is religious like and thus is a natural religion, and

• Sports is a religion

Hockey: A Divine Sport?

Hockey is not a religion mostly because fans do not formally self-identify themselves as belonging to a religion, however, sports and hockey can function as popular religion and parallel religious activity and belief.

Hockey and Religion• Star players are like gods or heroes and

heroines• Icons such as Wayne Gretzy are like saints• Coaches, owners, scouts make up high

councils, elders, and other religious figures• Reporters and commentators are like

scribes• Uniforms and pre-game rituals parallel

regalia and ceremonies• Arenas function as sacred places• There are hockey shrines honoring people• The Stanley cup is like a religious icon• Fans have had near-ecstatic experiences

Deeper Parallels to Hockey and Religion• Hockey provides a person to be bodily aware to experience a body,

mind, spirit connection• Promotes communal interdependence through team • However, it highlights societies inequalities – promoting white males• Glorification of suffering for example Bobby Braun’s Stanley Cup winning

goal which he did on a broken leg – pain is a consequence of playing hockey and injury part of the sport parallels Christianity

• Individual players form a team and all experience a sense of community or togetherness.

• Sports closely parallels heroic-centered religion – elevated status of certain individuals

• Experience of athletes (and a certain extent fans) losing themselves in the moment parallels with religious experience of transcendence

Cathedral of St. John the Divine - New York City, New York 'Sports Bay' Stained Glass Window.

1) St. Hubert (656-728). While hunting, Hubert encountered a white stag whose antlers formed a crucifix. He converted to Christianity and later became Bishop of Liege. He is the patron saint of hunters and animal protection.2) St. Paul's injunction to run the good race (1 Corinthians 9:24)3) Tennis.4) Figure Skating.5) Fencing.6) David conquering Goliath (1 Sam. 17:49).7) Baseball.8) Swimming.9) Basketball.10) Jacob wrestling with the angel (Gen. 32:24).11) Ice Hockey.12) Auto Racing.13) Football.14) Esau the hunter (Gen. 25:27). Esau is the son of Isaac and the brother of Jacob. Esau was tricked out of Isaac's blessing by Jacob.15) Boxing.16) Bowling.17) Boxing.

18) St. Paul's injunction to put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:11)19) Fishing.20) Bicycling.21) Golf.22) St. Matthias chose by lot to take the place of Judas who had committed suicide (Acts 1:23-26).23) Skiing.24) Sailing.25) Polo.26) Samson Killing the Lion (Judges 14:5-6).27) Hunting.28) Tobogganing.29) Soccer.30) Elijah and the chariot (2 Kings 2:9-15).31) Archery.32) Sculling.33) Archery.

In the outer margins of the window:a) Billiards.b) Fencing.c) Pistol shooting.d) Curling.e) Lacrosse (?).f) Cricket.