Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Blog #22
Please read “The Church of Sports.” Today we raise the question as to whether sports (particularly in our world of mass media) can be considered a “religion” or as at least a quasi-religious experience. I would like you to address this question. As you blog about it, respond to the list (the 11 items) at the end of our reading. Do you agree or disagree? Why? Respond to individual items on the list. What other characteristics or factors might you consider? In what ways might the sports experience parallel the religious experience?
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I've never been a big person with sports. Not because their mostly on sunday or anything like that. Mostly because my family has never been into sports. So before this reading assignment I never understood people and their worship of sports. I always thought it was weird. But after reading this and our in class discussions its made me change my attitude.
ReplyDeleteI can see how people find joy and peace in sports. How it brings people of all colors and backgrounds together for an event. How many times has sports been used as a way to heal a nation or a dispute? How many peoples lives have been changed for the better because of a sport or a coach?
I think sports still can't be classified as a religion, but I do see the similarities. I see how people find hope and an escape from life in it. To me religion is a way to free myself from the world, even if it's just for a little while. Sports can do the same thing for others. It gives people a way to look beyond their life and their troubles to something bigger.
I personally don't think that sports is something I'll really take a large part in. But I can still be open and understanding towards people who find a bigger deal in them. Just because their different than me doesn't mean their wrong.
I definitely agree that sports can be a religious experience for some. Just as people feel closer to a higher power through enjoying nature, I believe people can feel connected to a higher power when they are engaging in sports. While I think this is mostly associated with the participation and involvement of a player, after reading this article, I supposed people feel a sense of a religious experience when simply viewing sports. In a quote from Charles S. Prebish, he stated that, “Sports flow outward into action from a deep natural impulse that is radically religious: an impulse of freedom, respect for ritual limits, a zest for symbolic meaning, and a longing for perfection.” Sports are similar to religion in those ways as well as the 11 ways mentioned in the reading. Although I am by no means a sports fan, much of my Indiana-based extended family are avid sports fans, most having played on high school sports teams and almost all of them never missing a broadcasted football game nor local high school basketball game. They do treat sports like a religion. They are not religious in a traditional sense and many of them are agnostic or might consider themselves “nones” and I think sports fills a large void for them. They connect with sports and connect with others who know about the teams and norms, just like number 9 in the list states that relgigion is a socializing agent that teaches normative values and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding that an athletic/sports-centered “religion” is much different from a traditional religion is important. One can still be traditionally religious while still finding a religious experience in sports although there can only be one true “idol” in a person’s life. In the context of the LDS faith, it is important to remember the importance of prioritizing. In Exodus, God says, “Thou shall have no other gods before me,” and this goes for not only Gods but also activities. If sports or other activities take precedent in our lives to God, our priorities should be reevaluated.
I have never thought of sports to be considered as a religion. Religion and sports in my mind have always been separate. In my own life I have separated both. Growing up, swimming and church were two main aspects in my life. They were both very distinct and at times both would clash together. Practice and church activities battled for my time and because I had separated them, I hadn't thought of how swimming could have been considered like religion.
ReplyDeleteFrom the readings, and more specifically the 11 characteristics to how sports were similar to a established religion now I can see how sports can be perceived as such.
Number one talks about how sports provides meaning for dealing with the world. This was similar to number six on how sports provide real experience that regard overcoming obstacles in life and become victorious. Similar to our life in general and how we overcome them through faith. Faith can be used in faith in yourself and your team. Now thinking about it, there has been a lot of sport movies that have incorporated religion. Like football movies with the coach being a pastor and prayers before the game. The most interesting to me was the quasi-religious structure that included comparisons from Gods to players, priests to coaches, believers to fans and so on. This structure gives for people to have common believes and values. There becomes a sense of unity and kindness for others through sportsmanship. The last point reigns true. Just as how sports in any time will remain constant. God and his truth will remain constant.
I agree that sports can have a religious aspect to them. Sports have the feel of redemption as individuals change and improve. There are a lot of media portrayals on sports and their impact on lives. Due to many considering specific teams or sports as a religion in itself, these relationships are developed rather quickly in the media. One of my dear friends says his first and foremost religion will always be the Denver Broncos, but if LDS church attendance does not interfere then he will attend. It is rather humorous that we find major football games such as the Super Bowl on Sundays. One of my favorite sport films would have to be "The Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock. I appreciated the scenes where she displayed true Christ-like traits with taking Michael into her home and helping him receive a needed education so that he can play sports. For my family, we grew in closeness through attending baseball games in the summer evenings and spending time together. I grew to love baseball and recognize it as something that brought me to knowing my family much better than I did. Sports break barriers. As shown with the story of Jackie Robinson in the movie "42", we see race, class, and other major separations disappear as come together with the common purpose of the game. Although I see the relationship to sports, I do believe that religion and sports should be separated and not compared. Both have the goal of creating unity and establishing common goals.
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