Unit 6 Flashcards
Define Secular
“Of this world” , Anything that does not concern religion,
Define: profane
not sacred, all things that are part of common, everyday, worldly experiences.
Define sacred
things that inspire awe, mystery and reverence.
Define: Religion
is a shared set of beliefs and rituals focused on ultimate concerns of human existence like birth, life, suffering illness, tragedy, injustice and death. It is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, uniting into a single moral community all those who adhere to those beliefs and practices. These beliefs and rituals are linked to a sacred and supernatural realm. Objects, symbols and ceremonies are sacred and are identified as supernatural or forces that go beyond the here and now.
Functions of Religion
From a functionalist perspective, religion is a social institution that meets a variety of needs.
- Individual Needs:
- Contingency: refers to the multitude of uncertainties that humans face. Religion is something we rely on during uncertain times.
- Powerlessness: this deals with our ultimate helplessness, particularly with regard to death.
- Scarcity: refers to the finite nature of material goods and possessions. For the poor, it gives hope for the future; for the wealthy, religion provides justification for their good fortune.
- *Social Needs:
- Social control: religion provides us with our “moral dictates”; our list of “shoulds” and “should nots” like the Ten Commandments. When these commands are internalized, there is some degree of predictability in human actions.
- Social Integration: Religion can act to bind members of a community together.
Commonalities Between Sport and Religion
beleifs, hierarchy, magic, rituals, propitiation, symbols
Some argue that sports are actually a new form of religion; a “quasi-religion”.
Sport as Religion: both religion and sport are seen to share, to a degree, the following elements:
**Beliefs:In religion, the Christian beliefs appear in the Bible, In sport, the belief is that participation in sport can have some redeeming value in personal and social affairs. It is maintained that sport cultivates personal discipline, preparation for the competitiveness of life, physical fitness, mental alertness and nationalism.So both religion and sport have beliefs and or ideologies. Sport also has “scribes”, for example the media and sports journalists who “spread the word”…
**Hierarchy: In religion, there is a hierarchy of authority, for example, Catholics have their Pope, cardinals, archbishops and priests. In sport, there are high councils and ruling bodies like the IOC and the Canadian Amateur Athletic Union.
**Symbols/Icons: Religion…the Cross, or the Star of David. Symbols of faith in sport include things like hockey cards, autographed hockey pucks, baseball caps and photos of athletes.
**Rituals: Rituals in religion… confession, communion, baptism, prayer, the lighting of candles or saying the rosary. Rituals in sport would include watching the Grey Cup or the Stanley Cup and eating Pringles or watching baseball and eating bad hot dogs. The wearing of certain articles of clothing or jackets denoting a particular team is also part of a ritualistic act.
**Propitiation: In religion, these are acts that place the doer in good standing with their particular religion. This would include things like regular attendance at church,In sport, people show their devotion by making “pilgrimages” to sports halls of fame; being “super faithful” to just one team no matter how badly they play…or athletes completely devoting themselves to their sport or to the demands of their coach.
**Magic: In religion, this would be behaviour that one engages in to appease, cajole or manipulate the supernatural power or forces. A batter running rosary beads across his bat prior to a game would be an example of this magical behaviour.
In sport, this type of behaviour is part of ritualistic acts that can be very individualistic and in fact, at times, quite odd! This is the use of lucky charms and superstition imbued rituals that will (hope against hope!) bring success to the practitioner.
What is the Critical Theoretical position on religion and sport?
A critical theoretical perspective would question why we see a divide between the genders in both sport and religion. Critical theorists look for explanations of culture, power and social relations. They would ask questions like, why do comparisons between religion and sport have to focus on male dominated team sports? And why do most religion’s organizational structure still tend to be male dominated?
How have christian organizations used sports
1) To promote spiritual growth: Around the middle of the 19th century there were a number of influential Christian men in England and North America who were described as “Muscular Christians”; who promoted the idea that the physical condition of one’s body could have religious significance. These men started to create a belief that there could be a connection between the physical and spiritual dimensions of human beings. They also started to encourage religious organizations to use sports in their programs. The YMCA, as a Christian based sport program, was initiated due to on this belief. Sport participation was seen to be linked to the development of moral character, a belief that is still maintained today.
2) To Recruit New Members and Promote Religious Beliefs: There was a fear by the end of the 19th century that the Protestant churches were drawing lots of women…but not enough men! So sports were introduced as a way to emphasize “Christian Manliness”; thus the quote, “a manly man is a Godly man”. Sport organizations have developed to attract more people to Christian beliefs like, Athletes in Action and Fellowship of Christ Athetes
How have Sports used religion?
1) To Cope with Uncertainty: Religious rites and rituals are often performed in our life cycle to help us cope with uncertainties for example, baptism, marriage ceremonies and funerals. Sport has used religion to cope with uncertainties by including pre-game prayers as one means of eliminating pre-game anxiety.
2) Gives Special Meaning to Sport Participation: Sometimes, all the sacrifices which at times may seem solely self-serving are seen as spiritual offerings. A commitment to sport becomes sanctified because it is done for the glory of God. But at times this combining of religious belief and behaviour required to succeed in sport can lead to conflict. Do all the aggressive traits required to succeed in some sports necessarily coincide with spiritual beliefs?
3) To Create Cohesion and Maintain Social Control: Religion can be used by coaches either intentionally or not intentionally as a means of controlling the behaviour of athletes. Former U.S. football coach, George Allen encouraged team worship and was quoted as saying that, “prayer fosters togetherness and mutual respect like nothing I have found in 21 years of coaching”
How do sports act as a “quasi-religion”?
because it shares commonalities such as symbols, hierarchy, magic, propitiation, ritual and beliefs with other religions
