Sport Is Like Religion
TO WHAT EXTENT IS SPORT LIKE RELIGON
This essay will discuss the extent of religion being like sport. The main argument will be towards sport being like religion. Extracts from the following books have been used to gather information for this essay; Coakley (1998), Coakley and Pike (2009), Overman 1997, Rojek (1995), Weber (1976) and Hoffman (1992).
In the 17th century Weber (1976) came up with a theory linking Protestant religion and modern capitalistic values. Overman then used Weber’s theory to write about the puritans and their relationship to sport. “Puritans emphasised mind over emotion and revealed a profound fear of sensual pleasures and extravagant spontaneous activities such as play and dance were especially feared” (Overman …show more content…
Protestants believe in the idea that hard work is a good work ethic. Athletes will spend hours every day working really hard on developing their skills. They look at this as being good for them because it can bring positive outcomes, for example victory and success. Another ethic they believe in is the time-ethic. Every bit of time you have you should not waste. Athletes train as often as possible to reach the highest standards that they can. They will do this by training physically and mentally to help achieve their goal. Protestants believe in asceticism, self denial and endurance of pain. Athletes will push their bodies as far as they can to reach their highest ability. They also eliminate luxuries such as junk food and alcohol to keep them in the best shape possible. Weber’s idea could be seen as being ironic. The end purpose of puritans was to glorify God which was religious and the end purpose of sport is to win, which is …show more content…
His theory was functionalistic; he wasn’t concerned with the content of religion but with what it does, or its function. Durkheim studied an aboriginal tribal society to find out what is common to all religions. He also studied totenism. A totem is a symbol or emblem of the clan, individual members of the clan gather together to worship the totem. By doing this they are worshipping their own society. They do this by celebrating that they are part of something bigger than the individual. Crawford took the idea of totems and religious symbols and related this to sport, the best way to explain it is to relate the findings to an example in this case football. Religions have cathedrals which are used for mass worship where as sports fans and their countries have their international stadiums, for example England has Wembley. Religions also have their local churches and places of worship but in football local teams have their stadiums. In religions Gods are looked up to, but in sports it’s the players that are looked up to. Crawford also explained how religions have symbols of their faith like the cross and St, Christopher. These are all believed to guard and protect the person; it also shows a following of a certain faith. In sport people have their flags, badges and the kits of their sports team. This gives them unity with their team. The final aspect is the use of
This essay will discuss the extent of religion being like sport. The main argument will be towards sport being like religion. Extracts from the following books have been used to gather information for this essay; Coakley (1998), Coakley and Pike (2009), Overman 1997, Rojek (1995), Weber (1976) and Hoffman (1992).
In the 17th century Weber (1976) came up with a theory linking Protestant religion and modern capitalistic values. Overman then used Weber’s theory to write about the puritans and their relationship to sport. “Puritans emphasised mind over emotion and revealed a profound fear of sensual pleasures and extravagant spontaneous activities such as play and dance were especially feared” (Overman …show more content…
Protestants believe in the idea that hard work is a good work ethic. Athletes will spend hours every day working really hard on developing their skills. They look at this as being good for them because it can bring positive outcomes, for example victory and success. Another ethic they believe in is the time-ethic. Every bit of time you have you should not waste. Athletes train as often as possible to reach the highest standards that they can. They will do this by training physically and mentally to help achieve their goal. Protestants believe in asceticism, self denial and endurance of pain. Athletes will push their bodies as far as they can to reach their highest ability. They also eliminate luxuries such as junk food and alcohol to keep them in the best shape possible. Weber’s idea could be seen as being ironic. The end purpose of puritans was to glorify God which was religious and the end purpose of sport is to win, which is …show more content…
His theory was functionalistic; he wasn’t concerned with the content of religion but with what it does, or its function. Durkheim studied an aboriginal tribal society to find out what is common to all religions. He also studied totenism. A totem is a symbol or emblem of the clan, individual members of the clan gather together to worship the totem. By doing this they are worshipping their own society. They do this by celebrating that they are part of something bigger than the individual. Crawford took the idea of totems and religious symbols and related this to sport, the best way to explain it is to relate the findings to an example in this case football. Religions have cathedrals which are used for mass worship where as sports fans and their countries have their international stadiums, for example England has Wembley. Religions also have their local churches and places of worship but in football local teams have their stadiums. In religions Gods are looked up to, but in sports it’s the players that are looked up to. Crawford also explained how religions have symbols of their faith like the cross and St, Christopher. These are all believed to guard and protect the person; it also shows a following of a certain faith. In sport people have their flags, badges and the kits of their sports team. This gives them unity with their team. The final aspect is the use of