Theology Ethics and Transcendence in Sports

<p>This book provides an inter-disciplinary examination of the relationship between sport, spirituality and religion. It covers a wide-range of topics, such as prayer and sport, religious and spiritual perspectives on athletic identity and ‘flow’ in sport, theological analysis of genetic performance enhancement technologies, sectarianism in Scottish football, a spiritual understanding of sport psychology consultancy in English premiership soccer and how Zen may be useful in sports performance and participation. As modern sport is often intertwined with commercial and political agendas, this book also provides an important corrective to the “win at all costs” culture of modern sport, which cannot always be fully understood through secular ethical inquiry. This is a unique and important addition to the current literature for a wide-range of fields including theology and religious studies, psychology, health studies, ethics and sports studies. </p> <p>Foreword <em>Professor Robert J. Higgs.</em> Introduction <em>Nick Watson</em> <strong>Section 1: Theological Ethics in Sport</strong> Section 1 Introduction <em>Jim Parry </em>1. An Augustinian Critique of Our Relationship to Sport <em>Mark Hamilton </em>2. Prayers Out of Bounds <em>Shirl Hoffmann</em> 3. Better Than Normal? Constructing Modified Athletes and a Relational Theological Ethic <em>Tracy J. Trothen</em> 4. Living in a Sectarian Maelstrom: A Christian Professional Football Player’s Perspective <em>Ian Lawrence. </em><strong>Section 2: Psychological and Spiritual Dimensions of Sport </strong>Section 2 Introduction <em>Mark Nesti </em>5. Identity in Sport: A Psychological and Theological Analysis <em>Nick Watson </em>6. Sport Psychology and Spirit in Professional Football <em>Mark Nesti </em>7. Flow, Sport and the Spiritual Life <em>Patrick Kelly, S.J. </em><strong>Section 3: Transcendence in Movement, Play and Sport </strong>Section 3 Introduction <em>Jim Parry </em>8. Why Dichotomies Make it Difficult to See Play and Games as Gifts of God <em>Scott Kretchmar </em>9. The Energy of Play <em>Susan Saint Sing </em>10. Zen, Movement and Sports: Focussing on the Quality of Experiencing <em>Irena Martínková and Jim Parry </em>11. Pilgrimage as a Form of Physical and Movement Spirituality <em>Ivo Jirásek</em></p>