Religions and Sports: The Basics introduces the many connections and interactions between religions and sporting activities.
Readers will gain a foundational understanding of how to approach religions and sports analytically, theoretically, and methodologically. The book uses multiple relational frameworks to examine probing discussions around religious expressions in sports, the social connections of religions and sports, the mirroring of sport and religious devotion, and the discourse between religious ideas and leaders and professional athletes. Supplemented with numerous case studies and engaging exercises, it guides students through approaching research inquiries within the intersection of religion and sport for the first time.
With lively discussion on contemporary sports including skateboarding and pickleball, it is a must-read for all students of Religions and Sports and Religion and Popular Culture, in addition to sports fans more broadly.
1. Introduction: Why Study Religions and Sports?
2. Religions in Sports
3. Sports in Religions
4. Sports as Religions
5. Religions and Sports in Dialogue
6. Religions and Sports in Competition
7. Conclusion: Religions, Sports, and Disruptions
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Terry D. Shoemaker is Associate Teaching Professor in Religious Studies at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, USA. His research focus is sport and religion in the United States, and he serves as the co-editor of the academic journal, International Journal of Sport and Religion.
"Religions and Sports: The Basics brings classic scholarship to bear on current cultural trends at the intersection of religion and sport in a digestible, yet thorough way. This text is a sorely needed primer on the burgeoning field of religion and sport—one that will help orient readers of all stripes to new techniques for understanding both religion and sport separately and in relationship."
Jeffrey Scholes, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA.
"As an introductory text for the study of relations between religions and sports, Shoemaker’s work is student friendly in multiple ways: it features analyses of popular sports like pickleball and skateboarding; it examines religious orientations beyond those of monotheistic traditions; and it intersperses engaging research exercises throughout each chapter."
Joseph L. Price, Professor Emeritus, Department of Religious Studies, Whittier College, USA.
