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Defining religion
The various possible meanings of the term "spirituality
Defining religion
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Sports were born as a form of entertainment; yet, nowadays they occupy a big part in the everyday life of many people who often gather together to play, discuss, watch and enjoy some kind of sport. They became a tool, an excuse for social gathering and events where friends and strangers cheer and fight united to show their support for a team or individual of their favorite sport.
With the birth of new religions and religious movements in the last century, such as Heaven’s gate, Wiccan, UFO etc., a new dilemma raised: can a sport be a religion?
In my opinion I do not think sport can enter in the category of religion; however I can see why other people may think otherwise and perhaps in the future, sport can actually become a legit religion.
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The analytic definitions concentrates on the relationship between religion and the cultural context; while the essential definition of religion states that “ a religion is a system of beliefs and behaviors that deals with the relationship between humans and sacred supernatural ”; where the sacred is intended as something worthy of reverence and respect and where the supernatural is intended as something that goes above the natural human world.
To these given definitions, it must be added common characteristics shared by most or all of the religions.
First, the presence of supernatural beings and one or multiple gods.
Supernatural beings influence human lives in a positive or negative way depending on their nature or human actions. An example can be Vodou spirits who can either help the priests and priestess to cure people or achieve a goal, or can make their lives miserable punishing them due to actions that spirits do not approve of.
Second, the existence of a sacred book (sacred
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Fourth, rituals, symbols, sacred days and tabu.
Each religion has a set of religious rituals, sacred days and holidays and tabu.
Religious rituals involve the manipulation of symbols and the reading of sacred literature. The mass, baptism, Eucharist, offerings and prayers are example of religious Catholic rituals.
Sacred days and holidays are dedicated to gods and spirits. In these days, rituals are also performed. Sunday is the sacred day for Christians , Passover is for Jewish, Ramadan is the sacred holiday for Islam and Diwali is for Hindus.
A tabu is defined as “objects and persons that are supernaturally prohibited. May also refer to certain behaviors that would bring about negative consequences through supernatural means” (1). Food like pork for Islam or beef for Hindu are an example.
In general, there are some similarities between sports and religion that can be presented in favor to this argument.
First, the absence of supernatural
Sports are a big part of American society. There are different sports teams for different ages and skill levels. Sports have the potential to unite people, and members of a sports team learn how to effectively work together to accomplish goals. In regards to family unity, parents come out to see their kids play a game of soccer or football, and families and extended families come together to watch professional sports on TV. On the other hand, there are some people who do not think highly of sports. One such person, named Donald Vroon, wrote an article called, “The Stupidity of Sports.” In this article he lists the reasons he dislikes sports. Vroon’s claim that sports are stupid is flawed because many intelligent people play sports, sports can
Religion has an important impact on our everyday lives. Society uses religion to express themselves through faith, God and worship. Sports is also a type of religion in today’s society. People worship their teams at games and pray before every game. Sports and religion tie directly into people’s lives every day, take for instance Herman Winston, a golfer in Roland Merullo’s Golfing with God.
Religion has an important impact on everyday life. Society uses religion to express themselves through faith, God and worshiping. Sports are also a type of religion in today’s society. People worship their teams at games and pray before every game. Sports and religion tie directly into people’s lives every day.
To me the role of sports in society is for men and women of all ages to grow and develop and be responsible members of society and the community. Sports can bring a community together as long as it doesn 't become the religion of who we are as christians. It also gives us a different setting to interact with each other and learn from one another so we can become better as a whole. Coming together as a community and being able to learn and have fun is probably one of the most important aspects to me when it comes to sports. There should be no reason that parents have to get into arguments because of a call a referee makes in their child 's game. Also sports have become a bigger deal in society then just about fun and learning the sport. A great deal of it, at the higher level has so do with economics and social status’. Players with exceptional talent are now seen in commercials and have huge salaries to play sports or even at the college level earn scholarships to get into colleges for free. I mean hey, if your that good then good for you!
I believe the question posed by Prebish asking whether sport is a parallel to religion or identical means that sport is very closely related to the same principles. It is an organized institution dealing with faith, discipline, tradition, rituals, and has devout followers, as does the religious institution. When a sport can bring its followers to an experience of the ultimate plateau of complete focus, oneness, devotion, and the quest for salvation, I believe this is identical to religion.
According to Dictionary.com, the definition of a sport is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” With this definition, I more than believe that
Religion, or more appropriately religions, are cultural phenomena comprised of social institutions, traditions of practice, literatures, sacred texts and stories, and sacred places that identify and convey an understanding of ultimate meaning. Religions are very diverse. While it is common for religions to identify the ultimate with a deity (like the western monotheisms – Judaism, Christianity, Islam) or deities, not all do. There are non-theistic religions, like Buddhism.
Jacobson, Robert. Sports in America: Recreation, Business, Education, and Controversy. Detroit, Mi.: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.
Sports may have impacted our culture much more then we thought it would, and keeps impacting. Sports have affected some of the most important aspects of life, such as jobs and money. It has also affected things as little as who we look up to and how we dress. Culture means “the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.” The definition of sports is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” So when we put two and two together we get a a nation or world that has changed due to sports. Back in the mid and late 1900’s sports were used to see whose way of life was better. As time went on and keeps going on, we
Sports throughout history have shown close ties and relations to values and cultures of a society. Sports and competition have adapted and grown as the world and people have grown and developed. Sports are often seen as simple consequence of the industrial revolution. The Impact of increased urbanization, better communication and transportation, as well as more time and income for specialization, all led to the creation of sports. (szymanski). In essence As the public sphere grew so did the concept of sport. (Szymanski). Even the impact colonization had on spreading sports, shows the congruence between the development of society and development of modern sports. What make sports very unique is that they always bring about a sense of culture
Sport is defined as: “An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.”
The movie Invictus brings up several key points about the media in everyday life. One of the most prominent points brought up in the film is that sports have the power to bring people together and unite them with a common goal. Sports are an enormous part of the media and cultures all over the world. Whether it be the Super-bowl, World Cup, or Olympics, millions of people continue to unite and cheer for the teams they support. The reason in which sports often unites people is that it gives people something in common with one another. No matter what race, age, or gender, people of all types enjoy watching and supporting sports teams which is why it is such a powerful means to unite people.
According to dictionary.com, the term religion is defined as a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of
Sport creates friendships between people who would not normally communicate. This is great against racism since when people support the same ideals, they have something in common. This encourages communication between people and friendships between different people. Joe Humphrey says that sport creates “barriers between groups” which I think is wrong since people start friendships with all religions due to sport unifying people when supporting the same team.
For some people, the culture of the sporting world is less than thrilling. For others, it is a way of life. People who value sports and the culture that comes with it have walked through a progressive field of highs and lows. Sports have gone through a whirl wind of transitions from rules and regulations to local and global inclusivity. Apparel for players as well as spectators have evolved substantially to allow for a more personable experience for all involved. One aspect of the sporting culture has risen above the rest in terms of its impact on players and fans alike. The media has evolved so much in the sporting culture that is has allowed fans and players unthinkable access to the lifestyles and temperaments of the leagues. While this