Religion and Sports

Rebecca T. Alpert is professor of religion at Temple University. She is the author of Like Bread on the Seder Plate: Jewish Lesbians and the Transformation of Tradition, which won a Lambda Literary Award and Award for Scholarship from the Jewish Women's Caucus of the Association for Women in Psychology; Out of Left Field: Jews and Black Baseball; and Whose Torah? A Concise Guide to Progressive Judaism.

In Religion and Sports, Rebecca T. Alpert offers a series of expertly crafted case studies with innovative, provocative, and compelling suggested exercises for classroom use. The case studies are superb in their content and accessibility and cover a wide range of sports from across the globe, raising important questions related to race, gender, ethnicity, creed, pluralism, and moral complexity. -- Arthur Remillard, Saint Francis University Alpert explicitly seeks to add religions with their similar and different characteristics to the conversation about sports because she wants to explore how these two (nearly ubiquitous) spheres of life together might help us better understand what it means to be human in relation to the environment, to other living creatures, and to each other. -- John B. White, Baylor University The majority of previous books on sport and religion have focused on specific religious traditions. Religion and Sports, however, provides varied and deep insights into the symbiotic relationship between Protestant and Catholic forms of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zen Buddhism, to name a few. Perhaps, though, the most impressive aspect of this new and important book is its usefulness in the classroom. With rich case studies, study questions for class discussion at the end of each chapter, and a chapter entitled What would Phil Jackson Do?, this book will interest and engage students and will be an invaluable resource for educators. -- Nick J. Watson, York St John University, and coauthor, Sport and the Christian Religion In Religion and Sports Rebecca T. Alpert provides a much needed, interactive introduction to this emerging field in interdisciplinary studies. Using case studies that involve diverse religions and multiple sports, Alpert's ingenious work stimulates students to engage various intersections between sports and religion. To guide them through their encounters with the complex cases, Alpert provides specific learning objectives, assorted exercises and activities, and a series of probing questions for each chapter. Simply, this is a model textbook for cultivating student interest in religious studies and the significance of sports. -- Joseph L. Price, author of Rounding the Bases: Baseball and Religion in America This worthy book should be adopted by a number of sport and religion courses and should be required reading for sports officials. Excellent bibliography, notes, and index. Choice Alpert provides an important step in literature of the religion and sport field... Alpert's work is accessible, engaging, and beneficial for students. -- William Whitmore Sport in History

• A Note to Instructors on How to Use This Text Acknowledgments Introduction: Why Study Religion and Sports Part 1: Why Do People Think Sports Are a Religion? Case 1. Friday Night Lights: High School Football as Religion in Odessa Case 2. Oscar Pistorius and What It Means to Be Human Part 2: Does Religion Have a Place in Sports, or Sports in Religion? Case 3. Zen and Archery in Japan Case 4. O God of Players: Prayer and Women's Basketball at a Catholic College Case 5. Juju: Witchcraft and African Football Case 6. Jewish Umpires and Baseball Chapel Part 3: What Happens When Religion and Sports Come Into Conflict? Case 7. American Jews and the Boycott of the 1936 Berlin Olympics Case 8. The Belleville Grays and Playing Sports on the Sabbath Case 9. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and the National Anthem Ritual in the NBA Case 10. Judo and Hijab at the Olympics Part 4: Religion and Ethical Dilemmas in Sports Case 11. Caroline Pla and CYO Football: Should Girls Be Allowed to Compete with Boys? Case 12. Should the Roman Catholic Church Condemn Bullfighting in Spain? Case 13. Florida State University Seminoles' Osceola and Renegade: Mascots or Symbols Case 14. Jack Taylor's 138 Points: Is "Running Up the Score" Christian? Case 15. Conclusion: What Would Phil Jackson Do? Notes Index