Religion and Sports: Sacred Games and the Spirit of Competition

Catalog description

Professional football player Tim Tebow used to publicly kneel in prayer before almost every game. Elite runner Mo Farah rescheduled his Ramadan fast in 2011 when the Muslim month of fasting coincided with the world championships. What happens when religion and sports meet? Can a sport really be a religion? How do sports communities grapple with questions of equity and power, particularly in Philadelphia? By the end of this course you will be able to articulate a sophisticated answer to these two questions and be better prepared to understand and interpret the role of sports in society today. This course will teach you how to think about sports as ritual that brings people together, divides them, and gives athletes the power to remake themselves through the way they use and talk about their bodies. We will first look at the ceremonial and ritual aspects of sports from the view of the spectator or fan, considering the question of whether sports teams are functionally similar to religion. Then we will look at the ritual aspect of sport from the viewpoint of the athlete, considering the ways that athletes use their bodies in sports to foster community and self-realization. There will be a secondary focus on raising ethical questions through a discussion of case studies based on real events. Issues of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, age and disability will be prominently featured. There will be guest speakers- athletic and academic and at least one class visit to a sporting event. Sports discussed include but are not limited to American Football, Baseball, Cricket, Wrestling, Football (Soccer), Basketball and Track & Field.