Sports and Religion

Sports and Religion

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  Religion and Sports RELI2850
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  Chidester, Baseball Coca-Cola,and Rock N Roll 1. 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.
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  Christianity • Protestant Christianity •Evangelical Christianity
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  Protestantism • Originated fromReformation • 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
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  Evangelical Movement • FourDefining 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
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  Civil Religion Set ofquasi-religious attitudes, beliefs, rituals, and symbols that tie members of a political community together.
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  Sports Conflicting withReligion • 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
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  Sports Comingling withReligion • Muscular Christianity Emerged • Traditional Christianity blended with sports • Church sponsored sports • Missionary opportunities through sports
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  Religion Conscripting Sports
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  Sports Co-Opting Religion •Prayer used to win games • Locker room worship to unite players • Sports uses religious language
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  Sports Supplanting Religion •Academics understand sports tied to religion • Play and ritual relational • Both sports and ritual create another “world”
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  Born Again Sports •Link between Evangelical Christianity and Sports • Two examples: – The Fellowship of Christian Athletes – Athletes in Action
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  Assessment of BornAgain Sports • Athletes usually have history of evangelical Christianity • Sports used to convert un- churched • Total Release Performance • Supporting athletes
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  Aitken’s Argument Aitken statesthat 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
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  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
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  Hockey: A DivineSport? 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.
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  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
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  Deeper Parallels toHockey 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
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  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.