Sport and Religion in the Twenty-First Century

This book examines the relationship between sport and religion with regard to twenty-first century topics such as race, fandom, education, and culture. The contributors provide new insights into the people, movements, and events that define the complex relationship between sport and religion around the world.

Brad Schultz is professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi. Mary Lou Sheffer is associate professor in the School of Mass Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Chapter 1: Who's Got Game?: America's New Religion Mary Lou Sheffer Chapter 2: From Sunday Sermon to Monday Night Football: The Rise of the Use of Prayer in North American Sports Alan Goldenbach Chapter 3: Elegy for the McPheean Moment: False Idols and the Tyrannical Faith of Celebrity-Sports Culture Jeffrey B. Kurtz Chapter 4: Biblical Tales in the Sports News: Narrative and the Redemption of Michael Vick Chris B. Geyerman Chapter 5: An Olympic Religion: Does the IOC Still Have Faith in the Olympic Games? Anthony J. Moretti Chapter 6: "Be Not Conformed": The Relationship Between Modern Sport and Religion Brad Schultz Chapter 7: A Useable Soccer Martyr: The Egyptian Ultras and their Fight for Legitimacy Natalia Mielczarek Chapter 8: Celebrating in a Cemetery: Sport, the Sacred, and a Search for Significance in Fan Communities Bruce J. Evensen Chapter 9: Southern Reconstructing: Sport and the Future of Religion in the American S