Sport and Religion: Antiquity, modernity and contemporaneity
Sport and Religion: Antiquity, modernity and contemporaneity
by Luísa Ávila da Costa, Constantino Pereira Martins
English | 2025 | ASIN: B0F229WPSB | 361 Pages | PDF | 42 MB
by Luísa Ávila da Costa, Constantino Pereira Martins
English | 2025 | ASIN: B0F229WPSB | 361 Pages | PDF | 42 MB
The book examines how the movement known as Muscular Christianity influenced the development of modern sport. This movement, promoted by English public schools and Protestant churches, sought to integrate physical education with the moral and spiritual formation of young people. Through this ideology, sport was seen as a means of cultivating Christian virtues such as discipline, courage, and teamwork. Furthermore, the book analyzes how this tradition was exported globally, influencing sporting practices in diverse cultures. The authors also discuss the resurgence of contemporary Christian groups, such as Christians in Sport (CIS) in the United Kingdom and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in the United States, which revive the principles of Muscular Christianity to promote sport as an expression of faith and morality. The book is a significant contribution to academic studies on the relationship between sport and religion, offering a historical and ideological perspective on how sport can serve as a spiritual and moral practice.