Bodies in Motion: A Religious History of Sports in America

Are sports the new American religion? Arthur Remillard, a seasoned scholar of religion and sports, hears this question frequently. Often, it is prompted by the contrast between the waning of traditional religious institutions and the thriving, cash-rich world of sports. Stadiums bustle with boundless enthusiasm, exuberant rituals, and potent symbols. Churches no longer seem to.

According to Remillard, however, this question reduces "religion" to only its institutional form, thereby overlooki...