Religion and Sport in North America: Critical Essays for the Twenty-First Century

Religion and sport have a long history of association in North America, and this book explores the ways in which they inform, shape, and critique one another. It addresses contemporary issues related to sports such as globalization, commercialization, feminism, masculinity, critical race theory, and the ethics of doping, and is ideal for students and scholars studying these topics.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 286 pages
Publication date: 13 September 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

From athletes praising God to pastors using sport metaphors in the pulpit, the association between sport and religion in North America is often considered incidental. Yet religion and sport have been tightly intertwined for millennia and continue to inform, shape, and critique one another. Moreover, sport, rather than being a solely secular activity, is one of the most important sites for debates over gender, race, capitalism, the media, and civil religion.

Traditionally, scholarly writings on religion and sport have focused on the question of whether sport is a religion, using historical, philosophical, theological, and sociological insights to argue this matter. While these efforts sought to answer an important question, contemporary issues related to sports were neglected, such as globalization, commercialization, feminism, masculinity, critical race theory, and the ethics of doping. This volume contains lively, up-to-date essays from leading figures in the field to fill this scholarly gap. It treats religion as an indispensable prism through which to view sports, and vice versa.

This book is ideal for students approaching the topic of religion and sport. It will also be of interest to scholars studying sociology of religion, sociology of sport, religion and race, religion and gender, religion and politics, and sport in general.

Weight: 456g
Dimension: 155 x 234 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367857257