In this third appearance on You Have Permission, Dr. Terry Shoemaker of Arizona State University joins me to discuss the parallels between religion and sports as described in his new book Religion and Sports: The Basics. We look at four key parallels between religious and athletic life: rituals, devotions, identities, and communities. From early morning Arsenal fan gatherings to how families connect through college football despite tense religious differences, we unpack how sports can serve many of the same social and psychological functions as traditional religion — often with lower stakes. With the similarities of how sports and religion both create calendrical rhythms, foster community bonds, create transcendent experiences, and require devotion, sports offer unique opportunities for connection across ideological divides.

Highlights

05:49 Rituals in Sports and Religion

11:49 The Role of Identity in Sports Fandom

28:45 The Power of Community in Sports

42:12 Devotion: Sports as a Modern Religion

Terry's Book on Sports | Religions and Sports: The Basics

Terry's Faculty Page

Terry's Amazon Book Page

Dan's Substack Piece | In Defense of Sports

Past Episodes with Terry:

SOR 912 Using Outside Labs