Sport and Religion

This week we discussed about sport and religion. I am definitely in the mind frame that sport can be viewed as a religion, and for many people can replace what a mainline religion could offer. People have started to replace religious rituals with sports rituals. As Jacob pointed out, in baseball they sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" religiously, and most players have pre-game rituals they religiously adhere to. 

Jordi Xifra (2008) makes the argument that, "is soccer in general, and more specifically the soccer match, a kind of sports ritual? We have seen that analogies are to be found with religious ceremonies: breaking away from everydayness, a specific framework in time and in space, the repetitive and encoded nature of the practices, emotional effervescence expressed thorough the conventional media, symbolic destiny, sacrificatory drama, the theatre of good and evil." This is a great way to describe the religiousness of sports, and the ways they effect people in a deep way. Sports can provide a ritualistic escape from the everydayness of life. They can provide people with a "symbolic" destiny seen through the dedication put into practices and the outcome of the game. 

For most of my life, I have played the game of water polo. I started playing at 12 years old, and got as far to make it onto the junior olympic team in the US. Due to an injury I had quit playing, but the love and dedication to the game has continued to stay with me. Through this personal experience, I can more than attest to sports being a way of life and a religion. The before, during and after game rituals, sense of community, superstitions, team chants, and more can all be seen in mainline and modern-day religion. To play sport on a high or professional level, many athletes practice up to 8 or more hours a day (I know I did) and will refrain from drinking, partying, and anything else that could hamper their performance. This is a much more than many people who practice religion could claim to do for their religion on a daily basis. 

News and Media: Week 9

This week I did my presentation on news and the media. I thought that the article I reviewed "I Will Show You My Faith by What I do: A Survey of Religious Beliefs of Journalists and Journalists' Faiths Put into Action," by Doug Underwood was extremely interesting and informative. Doug and his colleague set out to disprove the theory that journalists are "Englightenment-bred rationalists, pragmatic skeptics and empiricism-loving modernists" that are secular and unreligious. Using a complex questionnaire, Doug set out to determine how journalists view region in the 20th century. 


His results disproved the the long thought idea that journalists are secular and at times irreligious. His findings showed that "journalists of all religious orientations responded similarly to calls to put their belief into action, as long as these calls are framed in a way that makes them seem to be a part of the journalistic, rather that the religious, tradition." I thought this result fairly predictable since it is rational to think that people would want to put their beliefs into action in a professional, and in this case, journalistic way. 


His results also found that, " journalists who were more secular in orientation said they wanted to keep religion separate from news coverage and professional ethics; those who were more religiously inclined were more comfortable intertwining them. Those journalists who were more “Christian” in their beliefs tended to define themselves as more politically and philosophically conservative and to see religion as more important in their lives." Doug argues that these results were also predictable and made sense when religion was looked at in the context of peoples lives.  


I thought it was particularly interesting that all the journalists interviewed mostly viewed themselves as morally correct, and willing to their beliefs into action in a professional way. I had always thought journalists simply reported or wrote about what they were told, so it was refreshing to see a study that proved me wrong. 


Doug ends with a warning that "we must be careful to not mistake this sympathy (towards religion) for an overt embrace of religion in their work or explicit support for the expression of religious viewpoints in their professional activities." And also that "clearly, religious currents- both visible and less visible- run through the moral value system of journalists." 

•Underwood D. 2002. I will show you my faith by what I do. a survey of the religious beliefs of journalists and journalists' faith put into action. In From Yahweh to Yahoo! the religious roots of the secular press, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2002, chapter 9, pp. 130-147, via the library's reading list.

 

Reflection

A couple of years ago I read an article on the importance of boredom. I can't remember exactly what it was called, but the main points have really stayed with me throughout the years. It argued that boredom was an important dying pastime. That kids, and even adults now days have forgotten the simple joy in simply being bored. I can't help but think how true this really is and that this issue is only getting worse with the abundance of technology that is constantly available at our fingertips.

This article challenged the reader to spend one hour each day simply sitting and being bored. I remember trying this for the first time and actually really enjoying it. I chose my favorite spot under my favorite tree and simply sat for one glorious hour. I turned off my phone, didn't bring my computer, and went somewhere where I knew no one could find me. I repeated this ritual for about a week, and found I actually really enjoyed simply doing nothing, and basking in the boredom.

Something I really find ironic about this is that I continued this for one week, found I really enjoyed it, and then got caught back up in life and was soon too busy to take an hour out of my day to be bored. Instead of sitting under my tree I'd watch my favorite TV program, or play a game on my iPhone. Instead of taking time for personal reflection I'd let my mind turn to "mush" on Facebook, or more appropriately for the time, Myspace.

What I finally have learned from this article (and it really is unfortunate it took me this long to realize it) is that people are investing useless technology instead of investing in themselves. As my father would say, "the best investment you can make is in yourself." I think that in this modern, technology forward culture, humanity has really forgotten that and put personal investment as a very low priority, if a priority at all.

 I would like to tell anyone reading this to not sell themselves short. Investing in yourself should really not be overlooked, you're worth it. Just as the article did, I will again challenge myself to spend an hour every day being bored, to simply get away from technology and clear my mind of all the static. Now all I have to do is find the perfect tree :).

I looked it up online, and although its not the exact article I read, it's still pretty good. Enjoy!

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/boredom-can-be-good-for-you.html

Interview with Kenton Beshore: Mariners Church Senior Pastor

Erin Reid

WRIT2011

Critical Review and Interview

Does God Read Email?

With the recent technology boom a surprising, yet predictable, relationship between media, technology and religion has arisen within many religious organizations. Churches like Hillsong, and many more, have taken advantage of modern technology and now broadcast their message to millions every Sunday over the television and Internet. Many churches now have Facebook pages, twitter accounts, and almost every religious institution has its own website. As Pauline Cheong so amusingly observes in her article Faith Tweets: Ambient Religious Communication and Microblogging Rituals, “What would Jesus tweet?” (Cheong, 2010). Instead of going to church, thousands now log on to various websites and watch their chosen sermon via a live webcam installed in the church auditorium (Miller, 1999). With this recent relationship between religion and technology many questions and debates have obviously arisen over the legitimacy and spirituality this type of worship provides.

Kenton Beshore is the Senior Pastor at Mariners Church located in Southern California. Mariners is a non-denominational, Evangelical Christian church, and it is one of the largest churches in the United States; it is referred to as a mega-church. Walk into Mariner’s main auditorium and you are automatically hit with sensory stimulus. The main auditorium seats a total of 3,500 people, has 3 huge megatron screens, and an impressive center stage to host its worship band. The weekly sermons are recorded and then sold in the impressive on campus bookstore and coffee shop. Out on the patio after each service there is a barbeque with games and activities for families.

 When asked how he feels about the recent technology boom that has so affected our culture Kenton responded, “ It is, just what it is. It’s like asking me how I feel about today being Friday. There are good things about it and there are bad things about it. With texting you have people connecting more but less conversations, less deep discussions and more shallow connections. But at the same time we can reach a whole group of people we wouldn’t have been able to reach before, and people are writing again.” While being aware of the upsides and the downsides to media and technology, Kenton has decided to take advantage of it and implement modern media and technology in his church. Mariners Church was the first church to put any sort of screen in their auditorium. The thought behind this was to make a big space seem smaller and more intimate. Kenton views religious media as a good way to reach people. When asked how he feels about churches like Hillsong broadcasting their message over the television he replied, “Through media they contact probably hundreds of thousands of people every week. It’s about reach, it’s not good or bad it’s just a tool.” With such huge media and technology implementation used in Mariners this obviously brings up the question of how money is being spent and that mega churches are putting smaller churches out of business (Libaw 2012). There have also been various critical articles about churches that spend large amounts of money on media and technology to further their religious wingspan. While Kenton can’t speak for any church but his own, he maintains that all the money his church spends on media is raised for that purpose.  While most gifts given towards media are small, it’s a way people can see their money being used in a progressive way. While it can’t be denied that media and technology provide a way for churches to reach more people than previously possible, there is still the argument that this is not a genuine connection. Watching a TV screen on Sunday morning could never replace or compare to actual human interaction. Kenton completely agrees with this point of view, “Somebody watching an online service is not interacting with other people in the building so they don’t get a authentic sense of what’s actually going on. Religion is about connecting on a spiritual level as well as a human level. You need a support group of people, and there is no way the Internet or television could ever provide that.” He argued further that watching a sermon over the television or Internet should never be a complete replacement for actually going to church. Having the technology to tune into a church service is a great resource for people who are traveling or in an old folks home or in the hospital. Having this technological alternative is a great resource for people who can’t be there in person, but should not be seen as a replacement for those who can.

In terms of media, Mariners is a very advanced church. Recently Kenton organized for a series of 6-minute stories to be posted online with the purpose of being watched during small group meetings at church members’ homes. The intent of these videos is to get the people who watch them thinking and to get their attention and provoke discussion within these groups that gather. They can then go to their Bibles and see similar stories there which hopefully reinforces this dialogue. These 6-minute clips became so successful that a big publisher decided to make a movie out of all of these clips combined together. This movie was called IAM. Over 80,000 copies were sold and more than a million people watched it (Swiatkowski, 2010). This was notably one of Kenton’s proudest achievements, and his excitement with what technology and media had allowed him to accomplish was infectious.

Media and technology are arguably the way of the future for many aspects of life (Lochte, 2006). This shift towards the technology era is only getting larger and moving faster. In his article Welcome to the Next Church, Charles Trueheart wonders weather or not his church may be in danger of, “…withering away. And whether it doesn’t deserve that fate if it doesn’t get intentional, and soon” (Trueheart, 1996). If smaller churches continue to resist the technology movement, there is the possibility that they won’t be able to compete with the mega-churches, or even technologically advanced churches, that seem to be taking over. When it comes to churches, Kenton argues that the only way to keep people interested and coming every Sunday is to jump on the bandwagon. He compares this revolution to when church bands first started to use instruments. This caused an uproar in some church communities because the instruments were seen as taking away from people’s natural worship of God. A person would be hard pressed to find any church today that does not use instruments in their band, no matter how conservative they are. Kenton really does say it best, “Technology can be used for good or for bad. It’s a powerful tool. To not use it is crazy because it dominates our culture and is the way of the future. The next generation will figure out how to do it even better.”

References

·      Cheong, P. H. (2010). Faith tweets: Ambient religious communication and microblogging rituals. M/C Journal: A Journal of Media and Culture, 13(2), Retrieved from https://blackboard.elearning.uq.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tabGroup=courses&url=/webapps/blackboard/content/contentWrapper.jsp?content_id=_2170492_1&displayName=Linked+File&course_id=_134716_1&navItem=content&attachment=true&href=http%3A%2F%2Fjournal.media-culture.org.au%2Findex.php%2Fmcjournal%2Farticle%2FviewArticle%2F223

·      Libaw, O. (2012, June 13). More americans flock to mega-churches. ABC News. Retrieved from

 http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93111&page=1

·      Lochte, B. (2006). Christian radio: The growth of a mainsteam broadcasting force. (3 ed., Vol. 37, pp. 174-177). Jefferson, North Carolina: Religion and Media. Retrieved from

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15326896cbq3703_3

·      Miller, L. (1999). Religion:god goes online . New York, NY: Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/398728006

·      Swiatkowski, J. (2010, October 12). Mariners church movie 'IAM' premiers. The Orange County Register Communications. Retrieved from http://www.ocregister.com/articles/church-270763-

·      Trueheart, C. (1996). Welcome to the next church . (2 ed., Vol. 278, pp. 37-58). The Atlantic Online: The Atlantic Monthly Company. Retrieved from

http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/96aug/nxtchrch/nxtchrch.htm

Week 7

Reading Sylvie's latest posting about Reflecting on Sacred Embodiment and Engagement Online was a very interesting look at the internal debate that many people probably go through when deciding to stay on a computer or go outside.

This struggle begs the question, are virtual worlds as fun as real worlds? In class Jacob was saying how from grade 7 to 10 (in school) he was practically addicted to the virtual world World of Warcraft (WOW). He said it even got the point where it affected his relationships where he would chose to play World Of Warcraft rather than be social with his friends or girlfriend. From grade 7-10 Jacob would have probably said that playing his character in his alternate world on WOW was more fun than the "real world".

Many people who participate in WOW or another online reality probably view them as fun, but is it really healthy to prioritize an online reality over real life? I remember a news report a couple of years ago about a teenage boy in China who had become so obsessed with WOW that he stayed up for some ridiculous ammount of time straight, completely forgetting to eat, the only thing he consumed was Redbulls to keep himself going and awake.

Long story short, the boy ended up dying of a heart attack in front of his computer screen after what I remeber could have been a week of not sleeping or eating. I would argue that that kind of an obsession with an online life is definitely not healthy. In this day and age it seems like humanity has every opportunity to overindulge. From alcohol to food, the internet has just become another vice where human beings have the opportunity to throw self restraint to the wind. Just as everything in life, the real world will only be fun if you put energy and work into it. Just as the boy in China put hundreds of hours into his online life, if the same effort would have been put into his real life, the outcome of the story above might have been completely different.

My First Poem- written in class with help

The sand soft beneath my feet
The sky red and pink in front of me
The waves silhouette's crash alongside
The faint sound of feet pattering and the dogs happy barking

I feel at peace surrounded by beauty and love

Photo by Erin Reid

Week 6 Postings

Today in class we discussed the pros and cons of "fast" religion compared to "slow" religion. I was on the team that was supporting "fast" religion and I thought both groups came up with some very interesting and valid insights. The class seemed to agree that the speed of relgion is usually totally up to each individual. The agrument  that Billy made that the major religions of today were once the fast religoins of the past was absolutely brilliant.

I grew up in California and attended a church that is probably a lot like Hillsong over here. They have huge jumbotrons to help broadcast their messages, they open every sermon with basically a rock concert, they now have a facebook page, a twitter, and many other media outlets. After each service they sold recorded tapes and now DVDs to buyers who wanted to buy a particular sermon that spoke to them, or as the church suggested, give it to a friend as a gift. I loved going to church as a child and still like giong today, but for some reason I've always found going to a rock concert on a Sunday morning a tad bit overwhelming. I think it is great  that churches have made the effort to film or record their sermons and then post them on the web.

 Some people could argue that this is not the same or as beneficial as acually going to church, but I find it a gerat alternative for people who like to be religous at their own pace. The one flaw with this method of being spiritual that I find is laziness. There has been many a Sunday where I have chosen to sleep in past church and promise myself I will listen to the sermon at some point throughout the day. Fast forward a month later and I now have promised myself I will listen to 4 sermons that day to make up for my lack of never actually following through on that orriginal promise to listen to the first one. Because of this I would definitely argue that the benefits of "fast" religion are completely up to the individual and what they decide to do with it. Myself concerned, I love the thought of fast religoin through meida sources and so on, but it is my own laziness that holds me back from taking full advantge of what fast religon has to offer.

Reflection Piece by the Lake

Sitting by the UQ lake I can't help but feel and overwhelming sense of wonder and joy that this is the journey my life has taken me on so far. A year ago I would have never imagined that I would have the opportunity to be in Australia, sit by this amazing lake, attend this beautiful school and take a class that encourages me me to have this self searching/reflective experience. Opportunities like this remind me how much God has really blessed me in life and how grateful I really am. Watching the birds swim peacefully on the lake and seeing the people relaxing on the benches that surround it really demonstrates to me how special and peaceful this place really is. A university is a place where most people wouldn't expect to find such amazing beauty and have the opportunity to be so close to nature. The lakes here are truly one of the most beautiful places I have seen and I am so grateful I get to take in their nourishing beauty everyday. Reflective/introspective writing has always been a challenge for me so having time to practice it every week will hopefully help me get to know myself on a deeper more personal level than I would have thought possible.

Photo by me