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
1997). Puritans was the name given to the English Calvinists. The Puritans attempted to purify the English church. Puritans believed the following characteristics were the ones they would live by; Self-control, hard work, modesty and thrift. Surprisingly they morally condemn luxury and idleness (Overman 1997). “Waste of time is the first and in principle the deadliest of sins. The span of human life is infinitely short and precious. Loss of time through sociability, idle talk, luxury, even more sleep than is necessary for health, six to eight hours, is worthy of absolute moral condemnation” (Rojek 1995 p.46) They believed they could secure themselves a place in heaven by following these characteristics, which they believe glorifies God. The puritans migrated to New England and took their religious ideas and values, which they used to shape Americas moral and cultural framework.
As asceticism grew, the protestant society became less moralistic and more rational. “Rationalisation refers to the process in which human action became increasingly subject to calculation, measurement, standardization, and control” (Overman 1997). As society was changing, peoples values were also changing, this helped to develop society further, and any behaviour or conduct within a particular society had to fall in line with what was considered to be ‘acceptable’ behaviour within that society. (Overman 1997). This caused puritans to become secularised (detached from their religious organs) this lead to all aspects in life to be influenced. Puritans values and their way of life frequently led to them being quite wealthy. They believed in a work ethic, and put this into practice, which as a rule led to an improvement in their lifestyle as a result of materialistic gain. As they became more absorbed into this work ethic lifestyle they transformed into a society that provided an ideal environment for the growth and development of capitalism. It can be claimed that the spirit of capitalism was a consequence of the Puritan work ethic, even if it was not the intended outcome. (Rojek 1995)

Today’s sports have been influenced by the values of the Protestant ethnic.
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
secular.

Durkheim’s theory was very different to Webers theory, but he also noted the links between sport and religion.
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
rituals. Religious rituals can be things such as singing hymns or reading psalms where as sports spectators have chants and songs which they sing at matches (Crawford 1998).

There are arguments however suggesting that sports and religion are seen as being in completely different categories. “Religion is a personal set or institutionalised system of religious attitudes, beliefs and practices” (Crawford 1989 p.120). This is a very different definition from that of sport. Sport is described by Coakley (1998), who suggests that sport is a an activity, predominately competitive, that requires the persons taking part to have certain skills and be able to endure physical exertion for the period of time it takes to complete the competition. These two statements would suggest that sport and religion require different values, attitudes and beliefs from the participants, and that those participants in turn gain different experiences from taking part in sport than they do taking part in religion. (Coakley 1998). Coakley goes on to describe the main differences between religion and sport as being that religious beliefs are based upon those found in the sacred world, but sporting beliefs are based on those of the profane. The purpose of religion, which tends to be more process orientated, is to transcend the material life in the pursuit of spiritual gain. The purpose of sport on the other hand tends to be more material and goal orientated with issues such as winning and the rewards offered for victory. Religion engenders a love for others whilst sport encourages competition, the pursuit of personal achievement and the defeat of others. (Coakley 1998)