Project MUSE®: International Journal of Sport and Religion - Latest Articles
https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/858
Project MUSE®: Latest articles in International Journal of Sport and Religion.daily12026-05-13T00:00:00-05:00text/htmlen-USVol. 1 (2023) through current issueLatest Articles: International Journal of Sport and ReligionTWOProject MUSE®International Journal of Sport and Religion2836-32132836-3205Latest articles in International Journal of Sport and Religion. Feed provided by Project MUSE®Identity Formation in Elite Sport: Christianity, Professional Soccer and Personal Integrity
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/982363
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Recent years have witnessed significant growth in the academic literature surrounding the relationship between sport and Christianity (see, for example, Watson and Parker, 2012, 2015; Ellis, 2014; Parker et al., 2016; Adogame et al, 2017; Hoven et al, 2019;), yet discussion of the theological groundings of identity formation in elite sport has been scarce (cf. Null, 2004, 2008a, 2008b). In turn, and regardless of the clear understanding that belief systems impact social relationships, theologians appear to have been reluctant to acknowledge the wider academic literature (i.e., psychological, sociological) on identity formation, or the value of empirical research emanating from the interpretive tradition (Ward
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-13T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/858/image/coversmallIdentity Formation in Elite Sport: Christianity, Professional Soccer and Personal Integrity2026-02-05text/htmlen-USIdentity Formation in Elite Sport: Christianity, Professional Soccer and Personal Integrity2026-02-052026TWOProject MUSE®935452026-05-13T00:00:00-05:002026-02-05The God Complex: The Link Between Christianity and Sport and What Might Be Construed as a Form of Cheating
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/982364
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Upon hearing the concept of the blend of sport and religion, many people consider it a rather peculiar and uncommon amalgamation (Kretschmann & Benz, 2012b), and think that religion and sport do not logically fit together. Religion—defined as “a system of beliefs in divine or superhuman power, and practices of worship or other rituals directed toward such a power” (Argyle & Beit-Hallahmi, 2013, p. 1)—and sport, however, represent two major cultural institutions with a global reach (Jeroh, 2012; Magdalinski & Chandler, 2002). Further, religion and sport comprise a communal environment in the lives of many (Lee, 2004) with the link between the two increasingly the subject of academic scrutiny (Parker & Watson
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-13T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/858/image/coversmallThe God Complex: The Link Between Christianity and Sport and What Might Be Construed as a Form of Cheating2026-02-05text/htmlen-USThe God Complex: The Link Between Christianity and Sport and What Might Be Construed as a Form of Cheating2026-02-052026TWOProject MUSE®1584542026-05-13T00:00:00-05:002026-02-05Critics at the Games
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/982365
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In August 2025 Baylor University hosted the 4th Global Congress on Christianity and Sport. Held every three years, this conference brings together scholars of sport and religion, sports ministry practitioners, and Christian athletes. Over the course of three days, attendees discussed the role of Christian prayer, practice, and tradition in sport, sports ethics, Christian evangelization through sport, and the historical overlap between Christianity and sport. The following transcript is an edited account of the roundtable discussion on critical perspectives in sport and Christianity, “Critics at the Games.” While much of the work on sport and Christianity has been dominated by theologians and historians—often with
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-13T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/858/image/coversmallCritics at the Games2026-02-05text/htmlen-USCritics at the Games2026-02-052026TWOProject MUSE®461122026-05-13T00:00:00-05:002026-02-05Religion and Sport in Japan ed. by Zachary T. Smith, Dennis J. Frost and Stephen G. Covell (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/982366
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Karl Marx famously claimed, “Religion is the opium of the masses,” but it is equally true that sports is the crack cocaine of the typical American male, and—as anyone who has spent time in Japan knows— Japan is the oxycontin of countries, causing even the most hardened tourists to ache for a return visit. As a victim of this triple addiction, Religion and Sport in Japan comes as a most welcome fix.This slim volume—just 190 pages, including extensive footnotes and references—is not intended for those who seek an introduction to the interplay of religion and sport in Japan, as each chapter presumes a familiarity with the sport (or sports) that it covers. It will, however, prove a valuable source of information for
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-13T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/858/image/coversmallReligion and Sport in Japan ed. by Zachary T. Smith, Dennis J. Frost and Stephen G. Covell (review)2026-02-05text/htmlen-USReligion and Sport in Japan ed. by Zachary T. Smith, Dennis J. Frost and Stephen G. Covell (review)2026-02-052026TWOProject MUSE®155402026-05-13T00:00:00-05:002026-02-05Movies and the Church of Baseball: Religion in the Cinema of the National Pastime by Jonathan Plummer (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/982367
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Jonathan Plummer’s book Movies and the Church of Baseball: Religion in the Cinema of the National Pastime explores the intersection of three pillars of American culture: sports, religion, and film. The book focuses on baseball films, a diverse category that spans multiple genres from comedies to mysteries to musicals. Plummer analyzes baseball films made for different audiences, from mainstream “box office smashes” to explicitly Christian productions. The book persuasively argues that baseball movies are rife with religious imagery. Imagery, the visual depiction of content, is central to the language of films.The book is guided by a central question: what can baseball films, full of blatant and subtle religious
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-13T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/858/image/coversmallMovies and the Church of Baseball: Religion in the Cinema of the National Pastime by Jonathan Plummer (review)2026-02-05text/htmlen-USMovies and the Church of Baseball: Religion in the Cinema of the National Pastime by Jonathan Plummer (review)2026-02-052026TWOProject MUSE®113552026-05-13T00:00:00-05:002026-02-05Bodies in Motion: A Religious History of Sports in America by Arthur Remillard (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/982368
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Using Bodies in Motion as the title of this beautiful work is a stroke of genius. Its meaning is illuminated in the opening epigram by Johan Huizinga, “In play the beauty of the human body in motion reaches its zenith” (page 1). This is, of course, also a religious history of sports in America, a deeply thought-through interpretation of sport through a religious lens. But more than that, the actual bodies in motion that Remillard painstakingly describes are the essence of the story he’s telling. Like many academics I begin reading books with the apparatus, curious about what the author has to say in the acknowledgements, to whom the book is dedicated, and what sources they used in the notes and topics they covered
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-13T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/858/image/coversmallBodies in Motion: A Religious History of Sports in America by Arthur Remillard (review)2026-02-05text/htmlen-USBodies in Motion: A Religious History of Sports in America by Arthur Remillard (review)2026-02-052026TWOProject MUSE®94542026-05-13T00:00:00-05:002026-02-05The Beautiful Game on a Muslim Pitch: How Football and Religion Are Shaping Identity and Society ed. by Aaron W. Hughes and Leif Stenberg (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/982369
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The Beautiful Game on a Muslim Pitch, edited by Aaron W. Hughes and Leif Stenberg, makes a timely and multifaceted intervention into the intersections of sport, religion, politics, and identity in contemporary Muslim contexts. Drawing on diverse disciplinary approaches—from ethnography and political science to history and critical religious studies—this edited volume assembles nine richly detailed case studies that collectively reposition football as not just a game, but a deeply consequential site of identity negotiation, state power, and cultural resistance. While the literature on sport and society has expanded significantly in recent years, especially in Middle Eastern studies, this volume adds a crucial, and
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-13T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/858/image/coversmallThe Beautiful Game on a Muslim Pitch: How Football and Religion Are Shaping Identity and Society ed. by Aaron W. Hughes and Leif Stenberg (review)2026-02-05text/htmlen-USThe Beautiful Game on a Muslim Pitch: How Football and Religion Are Shaping Identity and Society ed. by Aaron W. Hughes and Leif Stenberg (review)2026-02-052026TWOProject MUSE®130202026-05-13T00:00:00-05:002026-02-05Introduction to 3:2
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/982665
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As scholars of religion and sport, we often focus on the intersections, overlaps, and mirroring of these two cultural phenomena. By focusing on religion and sport, we elucidate the ways in which people devote themselves to often intense practices, commitments, and rituals. To be a fan or devotee or to be a sport participant or religious leader demands varying levels of engagement and focus. And many people simply give themselves to these pursuits. In this edition of the International Journal of Sport and Religion, we get an introduction to the scholarly pursuit of researching sport and religion, two juxtaposed articles questioning specifically the Christian connection to sport participation, and book reviews of
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-13T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/858/image/coversmallIntroduction to 3:22026-02-05text/htmlen-USIntroduction to 3:22026-02-052026TWOProject MUSE®59472026-05-13T00:00:00-05:002026-02-05