Sports and Religion in North America

image of book cover

Randall Balmer
Dartmouth College

Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Time: 12 - 1:15pm
Location:听Boisi Center, 24 Quincy Road, Conference Room 101

RSVP:听 WAITLIST ONLY - We will notify you is space is available.
听for luncheon colloquium. RSVP required for head count to order food.

Abstract

Each of the four major team sports鈥攂aseball, football, hockey, and basketball鈥攈as its own history, meaning, and symbolism. Based on his new book, 鈥淧assion Plays: How Religion Shaped Sports in North America,鈥 Randall Balmer explores the nuances of each sport and suggests that, in terms of popularity and devotion, sports may be America鈥檚 new religion.

Speaker Bio

Randall Balmer

Randall Balmer, the John Phillips Professor in Religion at Dartmouth College, is the author of eighteen books, including 鈥淏ad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right鈥 and 鈥淩edeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter.鈥 His second book, 鈥淢ine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America,鈥 now in its fifth edition, was made into an award-winning PBS series. His commentaries on religion in America appear in newspapers across the country.

Read More

Balmer, Randall. Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2021.

Balmer, Randall. Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism. Rev. and expanded ed. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2004.

Balmer, Randall. God in the White House: A History: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. 1st ed. New York: HarperOne, 2008.

Balmer, Randall. Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Balmer, Randall. Solemn Reverence: The Separation of Church and State in American Life. Lebanon, NH: Truth to Power, 2021.

Additional Resources:

Alpert, Rebecca T. Religion and Sports: An Introduction and Case Studies. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015.

Galos, Raluca. 鈥淪ports' Sociology.鈥 Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies 10, no. 29 (2011): 218鈥223.

Harvey, Lincoln. A Brief Theology of Sport. First US edition. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2014.

Higgs, Robert J. God in the Stadium: Sports and Religion in America. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1995.

Massa, Mark S. Catholics and American Culture: Fulton Sheen, Dorothy Day, and the Notre Dame Football Team. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1999.

Serazio, Michael. The Power of Sports: Media and Spectacle in America. New York: New York University Press, 2019.

In the News

, writer Randall Balmer responds to former high school football coach Joseph Kennedy鈥檚 prayer practices on the 50-yard line in front of fans and students. Balmer uses the credibility from his book, Solemn Reverence: The Separation of Church and State in American Life, to comment in light of the U.S. Constitution and Bible, on private and public prayer. Balmer鈥檚 arguments are based on claims of infringement of the first amendment by Kennedy鈥檚 actions. Balmer claims that Kennedy鈥檚 acts and disregard for separation of church and state cause 鈥渁 devaluation and trivialization of religion鈥 and do not follow Jesus鈥檚 definition of prayer (Matthew 6:6). This is an interesting stance reflected within Balmer鈥檚 new book: if public prayer does not have a place in state-funded sports practice, will the overlap in religion and sports overlap be laid bare?

Inspired by Americans鈥 captivation by sports, Randall Balmer, the John Phillips Professor in Religion at Dartmouth College and member of the Boisi Center鈥檚 Board of Advisors, wrote a new book titled, Passion Plays: How Religion Shaped Sports in North America. On October 12, Balmer participated in a well attended lunch colloquium at the Boisi Center, entitled 鈥淪ports and Religion in North America,鈥 where he discussed his recent publication and engaged in a riveting conversation about the intersection of America鈥檚 two passions.

The luncheon commenced with Balmer鈥檚 explanation of how football became America鈥檚 game; it conquered, what he describes as, 鈥渢he three R鈥檚: region, race, and religion.鈥 Football successfully spread to the south because it is a military-style game, and the south is embedded in a culture of militarism. Racial integration鈥揳lbeit violent鈥揳lso occurred on the field, which led to the sport鈥檚 increasing popularity during the mid-twentieth century. Furthermore, football spread across religious groups. Specifically, Boston College, Fordham, and Notre Dame embraced football as an opportunity to 鈥渂eat Protestants on the field,鈥 which further contributed to American Catholic identity formation.

The presentation transitioned to exploring James Naismith鈥檚 creation of basketball in 1891. As a Presbyterian, the Calvinist ideals of seeking boundaries and limits appears in basketball鈥檚 tight court dimensions. Balmer also accredits the game鈥檚 rise in popularity to its founding moment. In order to win a basketball game, one must successfully move through a small space without running into other players: skills needed to survive in a rapidly urbanizing society.

Balmer concluded his lecture describing how sports fanaticism manifests itself as a religion for many Americans. Today, church services will be moved so they don鈥檛 interfere with sports events; people don鈥檛 want to miss a game for Mass, revealing where Americans鈥 priorities lie. Over the past few decades, religious adherence has decreased while sports fanaticism has increased dramatically鈥揺specially among white males. Individuals鈥 communities now surround sports teams rather than religious institutions.

An enriching Q&A followed Balmer鈥檚 presentation; the conversation discussed transcendent moments that occurred in sports, including Doug Flutie鈥檚 Hail Mary pass. It also addressed how Americans have transitioned from looking to theologians鈥搒uch as MLK and Reinhold Niebuhr鈥搕o looking to athletes鈥搃ncluding Colin Kaepernick and LeBron James鈥揻or moral guidance.

Randall Balmer
Randall Balmer during presentation
Randall Balmer during presentation

Photo Credits: Christopher Soldt, MTS