Is Sports Becoming A Religion?
In 2017 the acclaimed docuseries Religion of Sports aired on Netflix. The series explored the dramatic interplay between religion and sports and made a bold statement: Given the decline of religion and the penetrating popularity of sports in society, rather than sports being like religion, sports have become a religion. Because sports have obtained a religion-like aura about it, the sports-religion topic deserves a deep dive to assess if sports and religion are competing against one another or if they are in mutual appreciation of each other.
A cursory view of this topic demonstrates that America is a sports craved nation. A recent report shows that 154 million Americans watch live sports every month. The activity of sports was listed in the top 5 hobbies Americans enjoy. Whether watching sports or doing sports, sports fascinate and resonate in the lives of people.
Sports intersects with religion by acting as a heightened metaphor to draw people into …