Psychologists are closing in on the conclusion that sport has many of the same effects on spectators as religion does [Barber, 2012].
Daniel Wann [2001], a leading sport psychologist at Murray State University, and his co-authors said:
„The similarities between sport fandom and organized religion are striking. Consider the vocabulary associated with both: faith, devotion, worship, ritual, dedication, sacrifice, commitment, spirit, prayer, suffering, festival, and celebration.”
It may seem odd, to equate religion with sport entertainment but it must be understood that prior to mass communications, religious ceremonies were a source of entertainment for ordinary people who rarely attended a theater or traveled to a sporting event. Sports and religion may get categorized separately but their intersection is difficult to miss.
As Wann and collaborators note, various scholars discuss sport in terms of „natural religion,” „humanistic religion,” and „primitive polytheism” pointing out that „spectators worship other human beings, their achievements…
Vezi articolul original 455 de cuvinte mai mult