"there has only ever been one perfect man, the Lord Jesus, and we killed him. I only missed a putt."
Religion and sport in North America
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Edited by Jeffery Scholes and Randall Balmer, Routledge, 2023
The book consists of 13 chapters in four sections
• evangelicalism and sport
• sport as a religio-cultural vehicle
• religion, sport on the market
• religion and sport through a racial frame
For me the most interesting chapter was Paul Putz “Christian athletes and the revolt of the black athlete”. Putz argues that the black athlete revolt and its interaction with evangelical sports ministries has not been analysed.
There is an interesting account of the formation of FCA, AIA and PAO and their differences.
FCA which is the oldest world with predominantly white leaders but the black athlete revolt demanded immediate change, particularly when prominent white Christian athletes like Bill Glass and Bill Bradley spoke out against those who professed faith in Christ but refused to recognise prejudice and discrimination against blacks. By the 1970s FCA and AIA were aggressively recruiting black athletes and coaches.
Putz astutely asks if the increase in racial diversity was a matter of Christian principle or a matter of self-preservation. Sadly he also concludes that “white and black Christians who believe their faith called them to confront racial injustices in a way that went beyond changing individual hearts we're not likely to find much support within evangelical sports ministries”.
He adds that “evangelical sports ministries remain connected to a white evangelical audience and donor base that looks with suspicion at most attempts to speak about racism as a social or structural problem”.