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.
Charles Prebish draws the conclusion that religion and sport are not just parallel, but they are a complete identity. He comes to this conclusion because he feels that there is more to the religious terminology that other authors suggested. Prebish says that fifty or more terms and phrases can expand the terminology, with little investigation. He also feels that most of the other authors share the vocabulary for both religion and sport, but have different meanings for each. He says in many cases there is no difference in meaning that each term carries for the two traditions. Prebish also gives us an example of two people, an athletic marathoner and the faithful churchgoer. The churchgoer seeks the glorious experience of God, while the marathoner pursues the “perfect run”, which in some cases can be an equally profound and religious experience. Prebish gives more examples of the identical similarities between religion and sport: sacred food, chants, personnel, seasonal rituals, etc. Although Prebish gives these examples of how identical these similarities are, I think the main point in his argument is that he is convinced through his work with athletes that it is possible to experience ultimate reality through sport, and that it happens regularly.
I believe that sport is parallel to religion because it has similarities.
The presence of activity and sport is found within cultures and societies all over the world, and throughout history. Activity in the form of sport can often be the purest form of expression for a society or individual. The sporting world is often thought to be a microcosm of the actual world with the problems and issues of society still being ever present in the sporting community. Since sport can be used as an expression of self, it is no wonder that sport is often a reflection of the society that it occupies. One such society that was deeply impacted by the role of sport is that of Native American boarding school students in the 1800’s and 1900’s. These students lived tough lives but just like how it had helped other cultural societies, sport was able to provide these students with basic needs of autonomy and pride.
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.
Football is not a game but a religion, a metaphysical island of fundamental truth in a highly verbalized, disguised society, a throwback of 30,000 generations of anthropological time. (“Football Quotes, Great”, par. 12)
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!
In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth was a power hungry woman who would do anything to achieve control. “…Nature is more powerful than nurture, and a person’s capabilities are strictly limited and largely determined by his endowment at birth” (The Scientific Monthly 221). Lady Macbeth was born to be a powerful and controlling woman. She took on many masculine characteristics, because she was craving power. If it weren’t for her manipulating Macbeth to commit the murder of King Duncan, she would’ve done it herself. Macbeth even thought that she was a man’s soul in a woman’s body. “…Come, you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/ And fill me from the ...
Abstract: Society is affected every day by many different kinds of sports. These sports often govern society's way of life. People all over the nation turn their TVs to sporting events, such as golf, during the weekends. Scott Stossel states that "more than six million Americans enjoy watching golf on the weekends." Parents use sports as a teaching tool for their children. Kids learn teamwork and discipline from team sports programs and sports have also helped many students with their grades. Kids who want to compete in school sports are taught to keep their grades up or they won't be able to play, but the greedy coaches and schools often look around grades to keep their "star athletes" in the games. Adults have been affected by sports in their bank accounts. Tax increases for funding a new stadium, golf course and even school programs have hurt the middle class Americans. Sports have taken control of small communities and soon will take control of society
"Politics has come to be considered not only inappropriate in the arena of sports, but actually antithetical to it," Zirin says. "We want so much to see sports solely as an arena of play, not seriousness. But here's the thing, this can cheapen not only the greatness and relevance of sports to us as a society, but also the courage of the athletes" (The Nation). The pursuit of fame, wealth and status can blind the human conscious, which is why it is important for us to encourage athletes to speak their minds. As a nation, we should not silence the athletes, because it is the truly courageous athletes who have the audacity to stand up when it’s not popular. Sports should be used as a platform for a certain kind of politics: militarism, nationalism. There is a rich tradition of resistance to politics in sports, but their actions have been integral to country’s struggle for racial and gender equality; sports are a safe place to discuss these difficult topics.
During the late 80’s, Phil Alden Robinson developed a sensational story that revolved around a real life account of a sport tragedy. The viewers were immersed in a touching account of how sport, a social interest, can play a powerful role in human bonding; thus becoming a very spiritual component of life. It in itself has a profound effect on the societies’ spiritual experiences; and just like religion can respectfully be considered a form of spirituality for a modern society, as exemplified in Robinson’s movie ‘Field of Dreams’. This story resonates far beyond the power of dreams, its appeal lies in a vision of a perfect sport and the love for which can inadvertently resolve issues no matter how grand. The plot at first presents itself as a complex; or maybe even a strange series of events, but somehow its scenes string themselves into a moral about redemption and deep interpersonal bonds.
There are many repercussions that are projected upon both men and women when they enter into a sport that typically isn’t thought of as gender appropriate. Some of those cultural and social stigmatisms may be abandonment by your peers, and friends questions regarding your sexuality, and even in some cases criticism as to how you are living your life. In some cases, it may lead to you not being accepted by either group, theone whose norems you are not following, of as well as the one with whom you are trying to get involved. This paper will address all of these issues and how these seemingly negative situations can, will, and are, leading to growth. It will also discuss how this is a situation where repercussions are not just in the sports arena, but is prevalent in everyday life, in areas far beyond that of sport.
Research guided by conflict theory generally falls into the following categories: 1) studies of how athletes become alienated from their own bodies; 2) studies of how sports can be used to coerce and control people; 3) studies of sports and the development of commercialism in society; 4) studies of sports and various forms of nationalism and militarism; and 5) studies of sports and racism and sexism. (Coakley, 1998) In the book, Meggyesy provided examples of each of these categories which occurred during his footba...
Dealing with the issue of sport and ethnology, three major factors come to mind; prejudice, racism, and discrimination. These factors span across gender, ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural groups. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss how these factors have played a part in the evolution of sport in our society. The first issue tackled in this paper will be racism in sports, followed by prejudice and discrimination.
In the play, Macbeth, the power of a woman is a strong force to be reckoned with. Many times in the play, the female characters have proven their equality with any man. From the witches to Lady Macbeth, these characters show their power either in words or in actions. The women, in the play Macbeth, contradict the roles set by society in 1606. Women who over stepped their boundaries were considered a threat to the people and were punished severely. It was shocking to the public to see such masculine female characters in Macbeth.
Throughout the play Macbeth, characters start to emerge as dark and cruel. The author William Shakespeare writes about a strong and ambitiously powerful woman named Lady Macbeth. In the play, Lady Macbeth’s character shares with the audience that she believes her husband is not man enough to excel in completing the prophecy that the three witches have given to him. As a women, she makes sure to tell us that just because she is a women that you can be strong and independent. Although it may seem that Lady Macbeth has a tough exterior, she does proceed to have a conscience that causes her problems that comes to display later in the play.
Religion can be defined as a system of beliefs and worships which includes a code of ethics and a philosophy of life. Well over 90% of the world 's population adheres to some form of religion. The problem is that there are so many different religions. What is the right religion? What is true religion? The two most common ingredients in religions are rules and rituals. Some religions are essentially nothing more than a list of rules, dos and don 'ts, which a person must observe in order to be considered a faithful adherent of that religion, and thereby, right with the God of that religion. Two examples of rules-based religions are Islam and Judaism. Islam has its five pillars that must be observed.
"Politics has come to be considered not only inappropriate in the arena of sports, but actually antithetical to it," Zirin says. "We want so much to see sports solely as an arena of play, not seriousness. But here's the thing, this can cheapen not only the greatness and relevance of sports to us as a society, but also the courage of the athletes" . The pursuit of fame, wealth and status can blind the human conscience, which is why it is important for us to encourage athletes to voice their opinions. As a nation, we should not silence our athletes, because it is the truly courageous athletes who have the audacity to stand up when it is socially unacceptable. Sports should be used as a platform for a certain kind of politics such as militarism, nationalism and human rights. A few athletes stand out as political advocates of their time who were not afraid to express their opinions: Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, and Billie-Jean King. There is a rich tradition of resistance to politics in sports, but their actions have been integral to country’s struggle for racial and gender equality; sports are a safe place to discuss these difficult topics and therefore is essential.