“The evangelical community has been eager to lead the charge in the culture wars but has remained largely uncurious about sports.”

The pillars of religion and sports undergird the house of American culture. Over 40 percent of Americans tell pollsters (perhaps with some bit of fibbing) that they attend weekly worship, and Sports Illustrated puts out 13 million copies of its magazine each week (the same number of copies that To Kill a Mockingbird has sold since 1960).

But what is the nature of the relationship between American religion and American sports?

In his book Good Game: Christianity and the Culture of Sports (Baylor Press, 2010), Shirl James Hoffman argues that the church has uncritically embraced the culture of sports and needs a strong corrective.

“When religion runs up against sport, it is usually religion that gets shoved out of the way.” Hoffman writes. “Christians who have operated close to the sport scene have been largely followers rather than leaders, adopters of the dominant sports ethos rather than trendsetters.”

In other words, there has not been enough careful reflection about the counter-Christian aspects of sports, justly laying a charge against the church that it is not heeding Paul’s admonition: “Do not be conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2).

Similar to the late Neil Postman’s critique of television and entertainment, Amusing Ourselves to Death, Hoffman would have Christians consider more carefully whether some aspects of sports (medium) distort the gospel (message) beyond recognition.

Read More: http://online.worldmag.com/2010/10/08/christianity-and-the-culture-of-sports/