A Special Issue on Sport and Spirituality

Theology and philosophy are no strangers to one another even if they have grown apart. In bygone days, the overlap between the two was considerable. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, for instance, were theologians but they were also very well-informed philosophers. They addressed many of the same kinds of questions that philosophers addressed then and still address today. Moreover, they used reason and argument to support both their theological positions and secular claims.

Most modern universities, structured as they are by siloed disciplines, typically have separate departments and faculty for philosophy and religion. In addition, many contemporary philosophers, from the anti-religious Nietzsche to the irreligious Camus, have either attacked or ignored religion and other matters of faith. In fact, the current list of well-known modern philosophers who are regarded as atheists or agnostics is a lengthy one. Undoubtedly, the momentum generated by the scientific revolution—one that extolled objective observation, measurement, controlled studies, reductionist research designs, humanistic and materialistic assumptions, along with a robust skepticism about spiritual matters—continues to the present day.

Even so, philosophy and religion have never fully parted ways. Many recent and contemporary religious writers—Tillich, Bonhoeffer, Chesterton, Pieper, D. T. Suzuki, Martin Buber, the Dali Lama, Harvey Cox, Dallas Willard, Reinhold and H. Richard Niebuhr, Karen Armstrong, C.S. Lewis, Richard Rohr, and so many others—are well-read in philosophy and are careful scholars. By and large, they see no inherent contradictions or incompatibilities residing between reason and faith, immanence and transcendence, the tangible and intangible, accurate measurement and intelligent discernment, present reality and an ideal future, or atoms and miracles.

The converse is also true. Some well-respected philosophers have not turned their backs on mythology, ritual, spirituality, or formal religion.¹ Kierkegaard, William James, Michael Polanyi, Elizabeth Anscombe, Charles Taylor, Robert Bellah, Alisdair MacIntyre, Hossein Nasr, and Michael Sandel among others speak directly or indirectly about religious values and spiritual truths that may be embedded in some of our doctrines and mythology. Interestingly, even the avowed atheist, Singer (1995), in making his utilitarian case for how we should live, favorably references Jewish and Christian moral thinkers (e.g. Maimonides and Bellah, respectively), employs religious concepts such as forgiveness and transcendent purposes, and relies on the religious imagery of ‘building a temple’. In short, connections between formal religions and philosophy, or more broadly, spiritual experiences and philosophy are still not difficult to find. Neither is it difficult to find such connections when sport is added to the equation.

The collection in this special issue of Sport, Ethics and Philosophy speaks to the potential benefits that may accrue when making such connections. Most of the following essays emerge from the Christian tradition. This is the case because the idea for this collection was spawned at the Inaugural Global Congress on Sports and Christianity, hosted by York St. John University in August of 2016, and organized by Dr. Nick J. Watson.² Earlier versions of some of these papers were presented at that conference. However, several papers were submitted after the conference in response to an announcement of this special edition and a call for papers.

The late Michael Novak was one of the keynote speakers at the Inaugural Congress. As many readers of SEP know, he was among the first and most articulate modern philosopher-theologians to address sport. He took sport seriously as a secular treasure in its own right but also as a potential sign of and stimulus for spiritual experiences.³ He wrote that, when striving for the impossible in sport and when occasionally accomplishing it, ‘it is for me as if the intentions of the Creator were suddenly limpid before our eyes: as though into the fiery heart of the Creator we had momentary insight’ (Novak, 1976, p. 151).

Interestingly, the torch carried by Novak and others has been picked up by a younger group of scholars. In fact, activity across the philosophy/theology/sport spectrum appears to be increasing. Any scan of the internet will reveal a number of new books, collections of articles, as well as national and international organizations dedicated to examining the intersection of sport and spirituality.

The seven articles that follow range across a diverse sport and theological terrain. Gregg Twietmeyer argues that theological virtues help us establish powerful normative priorities for physical education and that conversely, an absence of those virtues leads to educational despair. Chad Carlson plumbs the mythological depths of sport and claims that games can produce similarly meaningful narratives. He points to the kinds of ‘deep engagements’ with the world generated by sport and game’s ‘gratuitous nature’ as a catalyst for significant mythological meaning. Shawn Graves sets the stage for a Christian ethic for sport by examining behavior in war and win-at-all cost attitudes in sport. He applies his alternative, love-based principles to NHL hockey, while addressing fighting, truth-telling, taunting, and trash-talking. Ivo Jirasek complements Graves position but from a non-theistic, non-Christian perspective. By distinguishing between spirituality and religion, and by arguing for a secular source of love, he argues that sport serves ‘as a possible source of goodness for atheists’. Michael W. Austin expands the conversation to include three virtues that can be cultivated and displayed in sport—namely, faith, hope, and love. He acknowledges that focusing on the ethical utility of sport may ‘undermine its autotelicity’, but concludes that sport can and should be valued for both intrinsic and instrumental reasons. John White also expresses concern over the corruption of sport when it is used for extrinsic purposes. However, he presents a holistic case for making less of dichotomous distinctions (such as utility and autotelicity) and argues that joyous experiences in sport are themselves a form of worship. Scott Kretchmar and Nick J. Watson present another holistic interpretation of religion and sport by citing the work of G. K. Chesterton. They suggest that play is best understood by embracing apparent contradictions and that an ‘orthodox’ Christian perspective on sport is one of ambiguity. Namely, sport should be loved and hated … at the same time.

Notes

1. By formal religions I mean institutional organizations such as Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity, or sects within such institutions such as Lutheranism or Mahayana Buddhism. Religions can be theistic or nontheistic but they share the characteristic of promising radical qualitative transformations in the way one lives and/or significant enhancements in prospects for one’s future. Spiritual experiences are supra-normal subjective encounters that may or may not have a connection with institutionalized religion. They may range from a sense of ‘Divine presence’ to any variety of mystical experiences such as those of harmony or peace.

2. This 1st World Congress was very well attended and extremely well-received. In light of this response, a 2nd Congress has been planned for 23–27 October 2019, Calvin College, Michigan, USA. The conference will be convened by Professor Brian Bolt, and Dr. Chad Carlson.

3. Novak came from the Roman Catholic tradition. A number of his claims about sport and athletic agency show traces of Aquinas and other progenitors of Catholic theology.