Theology, Ethics and Transcendence in Sports

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.

Nick Watson is senior lecturer in Sport Psychology and Sociology; Founding Director of the Centre for the Study of Sport and Spirituality, York St John University; and co-author of the book Sport and Spirituality: An Introduction (2007, Routledge).

Jim Parry is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at Leeds University. He is the co-author of The Olympic Games Explained and co-editor of Ethics and Sport (both published by Routledge).  

Mark Stephen Nesti, Reader in Sport Psychology, York St John University, England, is an applied sports psychologist currently working at Premiership football club, Newcastle United, and the author of the pioneering text, Existential Psychology in Sport: Theory and Applications (2004).