Sport as (Spi)rituality

Authors

  • Roberto Cipriani Università Roma Tre

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.v15i2.139

Keywords:

sport, spirituality, rituality, symbols, games, spectacle

Abstract

This article deals with the relationship between sport and (spi)rituality from an anthropological and sociological point of view. There are several convergences but also many differences between the two spheres. However, the affinities appear to be more numerous and meaningful than the divergences. In particular the presence of prayer during sporting events is stressed to foreground the notion of games as a metaphor of life. Another significant role is played by symbols whose religious content is evident. The author refers, particularly, to the significance of the contribution made by Turner’s approach to the transition from rite to spectacle (or theatre).

References

Caillois, Roger. 1981. I giochi e gli uomini. La maschera e la vertigine. Milan: Bompiani.

Cipriani, Roberto. 2005. Il pueblo solidale. Nahuatzen dalla cultura purépecha alla modernizzazione. Milan: Franco Angeli.

Coakley, J. Jay. 1986. Sport in Society. Issues and Controversies. St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

Czech, Daniel R., Craig A. Wrisberg, Leslee A. Fisher, Charles L. Thompson,

Gene Hayes. 2004. “The Experience of Christian Prayer in Sport. An Existential Phenomenological Investigation.” Journal of Psychology and Christianity 2: 1–19.

Daniélou, Alain. 1922. Le polythéisme hindou. Paris: Buchet Chastel.

Dumazedier, Joffre. 1962. Le loisir et la ville. Paris: Editions du Seuil.

Eberle, Oskar. 1954. Cenalora. Leben, Glaube, Tanz und Theater der Urvolker. Olten und Freiburg: Otto Walter.

Edwards, Harry. 1995. In Robert Higgs, God in the Stadium: Sports and Religion in America. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.

Grathoff, Richard. 1970. The Structure of Social Inconsistencies. A Contribution to a Unified Theory of Play, Game and Social Action. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.

Holford, E. 1992. “Prayer on the Playing Field.” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 63(2): 29–32.

Lay, Nancy. 1993. “Sport and Religion. An Unholy Alliance.” Viewpoints, US Department of Education, Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC).

Huizinga, Johan. 1949. Homo ludens. Turin: Einaudi.

Novak, Michael. 1976. The Joy of Sports. End Zones, Bases, Baskets, Balls and Consecration of the American Spirit. New York: Basic Books.

Probish, Charles S. 1989. Heavenly Father, Divine Goalie. In Sport in Contemporary Society. An Anthology, edited by D. Stanley Eitzen, 283–293. New York: St. Martin’s Press. First published in 1984 a “Heavenly Father, Divine Goalie: Sport and Religion.” Antioch Review 42(3): 306–318.

———. 1993. Religion and Sport. The Meeting of Sacred and Profane. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Price, Joseph L. 2001. From Season to Season. Sports as American Religion. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.

Singer, Milton. 1972. When a Great Tradition Modernizes. New York: Praeger.

Turner, Victor. 1986. Dal rito al teatro. Bologna: Il Mulino.

Published

2012-07-04

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Cipriani, R. (2012). Sport as (Spi)rituality. Implicit Religion, 15(2), 139-151. https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.v15i2.139