“The High Seriousness of the Religion of Sports: A Return to Polytheism” - Brittney Block

In this article, Higgs and Braswell try to distinguish between the ever twining topics of sport and religion. Their starting point is the popular college football. Higgs and Braswell then delve into the complex world known as sport and religion. This article explains how sport derived from religion and then explains how sport is now separating from religion.

Higgs and Braswell first begin the article with talking in-depth of the complex world known as college football. They explain how most footballers believe they are gods and expect to be treated as nothing less. Instead of student-athletes, they should be called athlete-students. Letting everyone know exactly where their priorities are: sport above everything else in their lives. Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant was the main advocacy of this theory, explaining how football is sacred; explaining how sport isn’t a religion, “…it’s more important than that.”

Higgs and Braswell identify how sport came about in Christianity. In order to be a successful religion, Christianity needed to shy away from its increasing seriousness. There began to be little play and humor in Christianity, the main focus was the seriousness of the sacred. To gain more support and following, the idea of play was introduced; this was known as Muscular Christianity. Muscular Christianity provided Christians with the ideal of masculinity and promoted physical strength & health in men. An increase of physical strength was seen as just as important as spirituality strength. This idea of play was seen as expression of faith; without play, religion is just “sterile rituals and stagnant beliefs.”

However, as time went by, play began to elevate to a higher standing; some claiming it to be on the same level as religion, others claiming it to be their religion. Play gave them everything that religion gave them; a sense of belonging, sense of identification, and a “church” where thousands worshipped. Higgs and Braswell said this to be the “eutrapelia or polytheism” debate. They pinned this debate to one fundamental question: “Can a person serve two masters if the masters are substantially different, if one master says love your neighbor as yourself and another says winning is the only thing?” In Higgs and Braswell’s arguments, they believe that sport isn’t a religion, rather an “authentic archetype of human action.” They believe that this whole idea is nothing more than eutrapelia: a well-turning person. This allows for both humor and play in the extremely sacred world that is religion. Going back to their fundamental question, eutrapelia is their answer. It wouldn’t be polytheistic to attend churches of different denominations; it would rather be the idea of eutrapelia. Having the ability to believe and practice different “religions” but still holding your fundamental beliefs in something greater than you.

References: Higgs, Robert J., and Michael C. Braswell. The High Seriousness of the Religion as Sports: A Return to Polytheism? An Unholy Alliance: The Sacred and Modern Sports. Macon: Mercer UP, 2004. 337-66.

Religion and Sport - Lorelei Franke-Woods

"With God on their side"


For some people, sports arenas function as cathedrals, athletes have become as gods and sporting teams and clubs serve as denominations. Magdalinski and Chandler (2002) argue against this. While accepting that there are meaningful links between sport and religion including sharing similar frameworks, this paper stresses that the relationship between sport and religion has often been uneasy, as they have different philosophical foundations. To support this argument, the role of sport in issues of religions’ boundary maintenance, identity formation and community are addressed. The mid 19th century ideology of muscular Christianity is also considered.

Modern religions differ according to their relationship to a transcendental god, distinguishing between divine and human and attributing authority to a transcendental god outside themselves. Religion requires a sense of the supernatural, and established rituals. The differentiation between the supernatural and the human is reflected in separating those who belong and those who do not. Such boundaries are important in the forming of collective identities in both sport and religion. Clear cut dogmas, rites, rules and teachings are used to maintain difference boundaries. Sport has been used as an instrument of religious difference and boundary maintenance, an example of this being in Northern Ireland where soccer is predominantly the sport of Protestants.

It is argued that religion is concerned with individual and social behaviour and cultural influence, significantly influencing group and individual identities. However, sport and religion have both arguably contributed to ethnic identities in Australia. Sporting rhetoric is significant for the boundary maintenance and religious identity of groups such as the Promise Keepers who have used the language and symbolism of American male-dominated sport to support their gender-ideological movement.

19th century British “Muscular Christianity” promoted health and body fitness through which commitment and loyalty, religious and moral discipline together was thought to enhance a moral elevation of the soul. Through both sport and religion, communities are unified and strengthened, while groups such as YMCA have used sport as a tool to promote religious morality and structure.

Magdalinski and Chandler have argued that sport does not represent a type of secular faith and have used the issues of boundary maintenance, identity formation and community to strengthen their argument.

Reference:
Magdalinski, T. & Chandler, T.J.L. Eds., (2002). With God on their side: sport in the service of religion. London: Routledge. ch.1 pp. 1-19.

Religion and Sport - Lorelei Franke-Woods

Sport and Religion : Nathan Harding

Review: Sea Spirituality, Surfing and Aquatic Nature Religion by Bron Taylor

A look into Sea Spirituality and a discussion on the idea that the sport of surfing could be identified as an aquatic nature religion will seem foreign and absurd to some people. However, Taylor makes it seem as natural and an almost predictable connection in his article on ‘Sea Spirituality, surfing and aquatic religion’.

 

Taylor’s point regarding the lack of scholarly attention given to the significance of water in religious phenomena is a poignant one. Water is central to many practices of religion e.g. Christian baptism, Muslim cleansing of the body before prayers, Jewish immersing ritual to mark significant occasions, Hindu cleansing before prayer, but yet its actual significance is rarely discussed. It is interesting to note that where most religious rituals involving water use it as symbolism for cleansing, newness and renewal sea-spirituality views water itself as holy, sacred and encompassing the divine. To sea-spirituality water is not something to be simply utilized in religion it is something to be revered as apart of the divine.

 

Taylor discusses the whole concept of ‘what counts as religion’. He points out that there is no consensus on what is considered essential ingredients in religious phenomena. He puts forward the concept of ‘lived religion’ which is religion that has come, ‘… into being in an ongoing dynamic relationship with the realities of everyday life’. This definition is a useful one because it helps to reveal whether a person has a deep sense of the relevance of his/her religion or not. The definition of ‘lived religion’ also gives one an opportunity to validate a deep, sacred, metaphysical experience, e.g. a surfer’s communion with Mother Ocean and nature, under the category of religious phenomena.

 

For many people today surfing offers a powerful spiritual experience, a collective identity with their fellow man and an inner peace of mind not found onshore. This articulation could be heard from various religious adherents anywhere in the world. The connection between surfing and religion is legitimized theoretically in Taylor’s article where surfing spirituality is equated as religious phenomena.

Reference:

Taylor, Bron. "Sea Spirituality, Surfing and Aquatic Nature Religion," in Deep Blue: Critical Reflections on Nature, Religion and Water, Edited by Sylvie Shaw and Andrew Francis. London: equinox, 2008.

Gender and Religion

Celia Fitz-Walter

Review: God and Gender: Some Reflections on Women’s Invocations of the Divine by Morny Joy

Morny Joy’s article discusses and debates a number of different texts written by feminist thinkers that challenge male-oriented models of God. With a specific focus on Judaism and Christianity, Joy notes that God has been traditionally conceived through male-identified ideals, using masculine images and terminology. As such, she believes that many women have felt alienated in their religious tradition and experienced difficulty in finding a voice and receiving recognition of their experiences.

Joy notes that traditional ‘God-imagery’ and ‘God-talk’ are being challenged and revised by feminist theological scholars to the extent that theology is undergoing a permanent change. Additionally, she acknowledges that changes in contemporary philosophy have allowed for greater articulation of women’s expression in theology and have meant that women do not have to rely on traditional masculine-centred ideals. She does, however, note three philosophical pitfalls; dualism, relativism and essentialism, and discusses ways in which they may be overcome. For overcoming dualism, she believes it’s as easy as women acknowledging that the God that has been rejected was one that has been made in ideals that are unrelated to most women’s experience.

Morny Joy believes that hermeneutics has a lot to offer in the way of avoiding the hurdles of relativism and essentialism while at the same time establishing a basis for women’s experience. She proposes a method of radical hermeneutics whereby the theological tradition is scrutinised and questioned, and examines the work of two feminists scholars who have done so. In order to accommodate the differing views in feminine scholarship, particularly between those who advocate universalizing forms of feminism and their critics, Morny Joy encourages an appeal to pluralist hermeneutics.

Joy argues for continued debate between feminist scholars and Church authorities, so that old ideas and concepts previously foreign to women’s experiences can be challenged and revitalised. In doing so, she not only believes that broader theological understandings may be reached but that the contribution of women will have permanent and profound consequences for religion.

Reference:

Joy, Morny. “God and Gender: Some Reflections on Women’s Invocations of the Divine.” Religion and Gender. Ed. Ursula King. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1995. 121-143.

Sexuality and Religion

Hannah Hafso
Review of Sweasey, Peter. From Queer to Eternity. London: Cassell, 1997.

Sexuality and religion, topics that are not commonly discussed around the dinner table, but are the focus of Peter Seasey’s book From Queer to Eternity. Although the piece “is not a work of academic theory” (Sweasey IX) it provides insightful perspective on the controversial relationship between these two subjects. The assumption that religion is not compatible or available to homosexuals is disproved by testimonials and theories.

Traditional religions have had a history of being particularly discriminative against homosexuals which has led to hostility against from both sides. In addition, the exclusivity of religion has allowed the gay community to distinguish between spirituality and religion. As stated by Chris Ferguson, religion is an institution that aims to “try and make you what your not, spirituality is trying to make you who you are”. Spirituality enables one to feel a deeper sense of themselves ,be connected to a higher power, and address life as a whole without stepping into the condemning confines of a church. Sweaseys describes transcendence and altered states of consciousness as defining features of spiritual experiences.

These experiences are common religious activity but are not exclusive to it; drugs, sex, and art are outlets that the gay community in particular have used to achieve an out of body experience. Homosexuals who have braved the opposition to practice religion, are “more likely to emphasize the personal and spiritual rather than doctrinal and organizational”(Sweasey 5)aspects of their faith. He explains that when taken literally, stories from holy books seem to only apply to heterosexuals, but metaphorically they are life maps for everyone.

Different perspectives and alternative meanings have allowed the doors of traditional religions to open up for the homosexual community. Our society is becoming increasingly more tolerant of individual differences in race, religion, and sexuality, forcing religions to re-evaluate the distinguishing characteristics of their congregation.

Taboo Subjects
These two topics, sexuality and religion, are both controversial and major factors in defining one’s identity. The deep rooted beliefs on both subjects abstains them from being dinner conversation. We shy away from discussing the feelings and emotions and focus on the physical aspects that can be viewed black and white. Most individuals only see the scandals and problems when the two collide, such as: gay marriage rights and priests abusing young children.

Can a homosexual be religious?
Traditionally this concept seems to be a paradox, as religions shun homosexuals has led to them disregarding religion.
- Christianity commonly uses Leviticus 18:22 “for thou shall not lie with a man as with a woman... for it is an abomination” to support the discrimination against those with same sex orientation.
Society is changing and adopting a more open perspective. This is reflected in various churches and religious groups who accept homosexuals, and the emergence of homosexual pastors and leaders.

Spirituality vs. Religion
“Religion is trying to make you what your not, spirituality is trying to make you who you are” (Chris Ferguson)

Spirituality has 3 key elements:
o Deeper sense of one’s self
o Addressing the whole of life
o Connection with something bigger

Thus, spirituality is available to all sexual orientations and can be used to answer our fundamental questions, such as: who am I? Why am I here? Is there a higher power?, that others find answered in religion.

Attributes of Spirituality
Transcendence: is a beyond self experience, where one is connected to a higher power or God.
“What Queers mean by God is much different, it is not the stereotype old man... but more of the energy of life” (Peter Sweasey)

Altered State of Consciousness
Feelings of bliss, euphoria, ecstasy, awe
Christians often describe these experiences as “gifts” of the Holy Spirit. In addition, these feelings are found in: sex, drugs, art, music etc.
A desire for spirituality and religion was increased in the 1960’s when AIDS forced the homosexual community to question their mortality in the face of the fatal disease.

Week8: Youth

Summary of "What teens believe: a survey on youth and religion"

Carol E. Lytch, What teens believe: a survey on youth and religion, Christian Century (2005) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_18_122/ai_n15674612

In this article, Carol E. Lytch talked about the survey on American teens and religion conducted by Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton. They research what teenager think of their religions. The survey was made by random telephone to 3,000 households of teenagers and parents and by over 250 face-to-face interviews.

It is known that parents have the strongest influence regarding their children’s choice of religion. The result of the survey is consistent with this theory. Three quarters of teens have similar belief to their parents’, even though teens are pretty much influenced by their “peers.”

Another finding indicates that religious participation is connected with good social behaviours. According to the survey, religiously involved teens are better than religiously inactive teens concerning smoking, drinking, drug use, sexual behaviour, and attendance of school, honesty and so forth.

The most significant discovery is teenagers’ being traditional. Generally adolescence is regarded as spiritual seekers. Contrary to general perception, majority of teens still belong to conventional religious communities. Teenagers, however, tend to regard themselves as Christian, Jewish and Mormon and do not attach importance to denominations. In addition to this finding, it is discovered that majority of teens think of congregations as being thoughtful and friendly. Teens who participate in worship regard congregation as an appropriate place to consider family or school matters.

On the other hand, the religion that teens think of differs from conventional religious beliefs. This religion is thought to be something to help people spend good or happy lives, and is very common among teenagers. Smith and Denton named this new religion “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.” Its principle is as follows:

1. A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth
2. God wants people to be good, nice and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

Smith and Denton consider Moralistic Therapeutic Deism to be the religion which lies between conventional and individual religions, and to be mixture of traditional beliefs and practice of various religions, denominations and even the nonreligious. Smith and Denton insist that emergence of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is related to individualisation of the society. They also suggest that congregations and parents need more vigorous engagement in youth religious issues, in order to help teens to be able to express their faith in clear words.

Lytch lastly mentions Smith and Denton’s message which criticise the thought of adolescence as “a social problem.” Teens in the United States are still pretty much engaged in their religions. Even though Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is different from conventional beliefs, it does not threat traditional religions.

Article Hoffman - 'Suicide Terrorism' (Ch. 5 in 'Inside Terrorism') (by Marjolein Voortman)

Since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, there has been a very noticeable increase in suicide terrorism. Originally, this started in Lebanon and Kuwait, but soon after that, the newly found form of attacking spread out into the Middle-East. Most of these suicide attacks are Islamic; 31 of the 35 organisations employing suicide attacks are Islamic and responsible for 8 percent of all suicide attacks since 9/11.

In his article, Hoffman describes how the core characteristics of suicide terrorism can be seen as advantages in comparison to other forms of mass attacking. To start with, suicide bombing is cheap and efficient. If we take 9/11 as an example, we see that ‘only’ 19 terrorists were killed, while killing up to 3000 civilians. The expenses in terms of money were between $400.000 en $500.000, which is relatively cheap for an attack of such an extend and scale. The consequences for the U.S. and even the world economy, however, were massive. Also, suicide bombing can be considered uncomplicated and uncompromising when compared to most forms of mass attacks. This is mainly, because it does not require an escape plan for the attackers, who obviously will not survive the attacks themselves. Arranging a safe getaway for the attackers is a important and complex part for terrorist organisations, that now can be ignored altogether. A very important ‘advantage’ of suicide bombing is that it guarantees big scale media attention, which is the main goal for most terrorist organisations, who feel unsatisfied and deprived. Again, if we take a look at 9/11, we still hear, see, feel and therefore re-live the attacks, with books, music, movies, research, articles, discussions and charity that remind us almost daily. Hoffman eventually mentions suicide bombing as a powerful psychological weapon. The 9/11 attacks destroyed the believe of many American people – as well as non-American people – they were untouchable, invulnerable and that their country had a superpower status, solidly surrounded by two vast oceans. They felt attacked, robbed of their loved ones and robbed of their safety. Moreover, the whole western world – not only the U.S. – was suddenly in shock, because something like this could happen, in such a manner, which such disastrous consequences, without at all foreseeing it. Therefore, it makes terrorist attacks, and suicide bombing, an effective way of making people feel unsafe and threatened.

Suicide terrorism is also used as an instrument of war. For the terrorist organisation Hamas it is simply the next step in a logical progression. One of Hamas’ leaders says: ‘it’s easy, it costs us only our lives, and it is the best weapon there is. Even nuclear bombs can’t beat human bombs’. It is also an ideological way of looking at things: ‘We are proud of our strength, we are proud of our arsenal of believers, who are willing to give themselves to Allah completely’ To these organisations, suicide terrorism is based on two beliefs: 1. It is the only way to convince Israeli decision makers that the Palestinian people will never yield to coercion; 2. It makes the Palestinian resistance finally discover Israel’s Achilles' heel.

Yet, there is another side on this story: Though many Muslims may be willing to give their lives for their religion, for their country; in general, people in the Jewish culture are said to be loving life too much to sacrifice themselves. They would rather leave their country. Enemies of Israel feel like the Israeli army is strong, has technological superiority and strategic capabilities, but its citizens are unwilling any longer to sacrifice themselves for national goals. That is what is called a society according to the Spider Web Theory: It looks strong from the outside, but touch it and it will fall apart.

Also, most terrorist organisations use religion and theology as a justification, and often as the core reason, for their deeds. Palestinian terrorists try to make society view suicide terrorism in a positive manner by use of media, by making it look like ‘the ultimate expression of selflessness and altruism’. And though suicide is forbidden in the Islam, the Koran provides motivations for suicide attacks: 1.seeking for Martyrdom; 2. hurting the Enemy; 3. encouraging Muslims; 4. weakening the Spirit of the Enemy. To them, suicide terrorism is being accepted by Allah, ‘as long as it is in the framework of Islam’.