Lexington Books
Pages: 272
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9¼
978-1-4985-1441-5 • Hardback • December 2015 • $126.00 • (£97.00)
978-1-4985-3056-9 • Paperback • May 2017 • $56.99 • (£44.00)
978-1-4985-1442-2 • eBook • December 2015 • $54.00 • (£42.00)
Brad Schultz is professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi.
Mary Lou Sheffer is associate professor in the School of Mass Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Chapter 1: Who’s Got Game?: America’s New Religion
Mary Lou Sheffer
Chapter 2:From Sunday Sermon to Monday Night Football:
The Rise of the Use of Prayer in North American Sports
Alan Goldenbach
Chapter 3:Elegy for the McPheean Moment: False Idols and the
Tyrannical Faith of Celebrity-Sports Culture
Jeffrey B. Kurtz
Chapter 4:Biblical Tales in the Sports News: Narrative and the
Redemption of Michael Vick
Chris B. Geyerman
Chapter 5:An Olympic Religion: Does the IOC Still Have Faith
in the Olympic Games?
Anthony J. Moretti
Chapter 6:“Be Not Conformed”: The Relationship Between Modern Sport and Religion
Brad Schultz
Chapter 7: A Useable Soccer Martyr: The Egyptian Ultras and their Fight for
Legitimacy
Natalia Mielczarek
Chapter 8: Celebrating in a Cemetery: Sport, the Sacred, and a
Search for Significance in Fan Communities
Bruce J. Evensen
Chapter 9: Southern Reconstructing: Sport and the Future of
Religion in the American South
Eric Bain-Selbo and Terry Shoemaker
Chapter 10: Exercising the Spiritual Muscle: Holistic Care Service
Provision in Intercollegiate Athletics
Landon T. Huffman, Robin Hardin, and Steven N. Waller
Chapter 11:Are Sports Programs at Small Church-Affiliated Colleges
and Universities Really Different?
Patrick J. Sutherland
Chapter 12: “Our Hope is Built on Nothing Less”: Why Religion/Spirituality
Matters in the Lives of Black Male College Athletes
Steven N. Waller
Here is one more book among a host of others on sport and religion. Comprising 12 essays, the volume commits itself to this relationship from 'both macro and micro perspectives.' The backgrounds of the contributors range from sports management to journalism and communication arts.... The book's major contribution is bibliographical—the references run to almost 30 pages. And the book rightly encourages far more interdisciplinary scholarship on the myriad possible topics related to sport and religion.... Summing Up: Recommended ... Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.
— Choice Reviews
The strength of the book is the range of topics covered, which means that everyone should find something of interest.
— Verite Sport
Sport and Religion in the Twenty-First Century provides a thorough and nuanced examination of sport and civil religion. Another key strength is in the detailed analysis of the role of media in contemporary sports. . . .Sport and Religion in the Twenty-First Century would be a welcomed volume to its intended audience of academics interested in religion, sports, culture, and ethics.
— Sport in American History
In recent years, the connection between sport and religion has gained great interest among scholars of religion and also, to some extent, within the field of sport studies. It is therefore somewhat surprising to find an anthology with the title Sport and Religion in the Twenty-First Century where a majority of the contributors are scholars of communication and media. In itself, this volume indicates how important the discussion on sport and religion has become in the United States…. Not unexpectedly, it is the media perspectives in the book that are the most intriguing. One such example is Jeffrey B. Kurtz’s discussion of how increased media attention to sport has changed the social position of athletes, and how the general public perceives athletes…. Thus, Sport and Religion…is for people with a general interest in sport, religion, and journalism.
— Reading Religion
This edited compendium is a unique contribution as it examines both macro and micro elements related to the intersection of—and at times the symbiotic relationship between—sport and religion. Editors Schultz and Sheffer should be commended for the diversity of topics covered in their collection.
— Paul M. Pedersen, Indiana University–Bloomington
At last, a thorough and nuanced examination of the inextricable link between sport and religion. Schultz and Sheffer have assembled a terrific list of authors and topics that collectively show that while sport and religion are not twins, they could be interpreted as siblings, closely woven within the fabric of modern culture.
— Andrew Billings, University of Alabama