The Spirit of the Game

Displays of religious faith have become commonplace on America's baseball diamonds, basketball courts, football fields, and beyond. How did religion become so entwined with big-time sports in America? The Spirit of the Game provides the answer to this question by offering a sweeping history of the Christian athlete movement in the United States--and its impact on American religion and the religion of sports.

Paul Emory Putz is Assistant Director of Truett Seminary's Faith & Sports Institute at Baylor University. He specializes in the study of sports, Christianity, and American culture. His writing and research has been featured in Christianity Today, Slate, and Religion & Politics, and he has been interviewed as an expert on sports and Christianity by the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Associated Press, National Public Radio, and more.

- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Two National Religions
- 1. The Terrific Urge to Win
- 2. Unless the Playing Interferes with the Praying
- 3. Christian Democracy Is being Tackled for a Loss
- 4. To Be an Athlete is Different
- 5. Scoring Heavily in The South
- 6. Call it Sportianity
- 7. Doing Sports God's Way
- 8. Jesse Jackson has Reason to be Concerned
- Epilogue: Two Quarterbacks who Kneeled
- Notes