{"product_id":"playing-with-god-william-j-baker-9780674024212","title":"Playing with God: Religion and Modern Sport","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe spectacle of modern sport displays all the latest commercial and technological innovations, yet age-old religious concerns still thrive at the stadium. Coaches lead pre-game and post-game prayers, athletes give God the credit for home runs and touchdowns, and fans wave signs with biblical quotations and allusions. Like no other nation on earth, Americans eagerly blend their religion and sports. \u003ci\u003ePlaying with God\u003c\/i\u003e traces this dynamic relationship from the Puritan condemnation of games as sinful in the seventeenth century to the near deification of athletic contests in our own day. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEarly religious opposition to competitive sport focused on the immoderate enthusiasm of players and spectators, the betting on scores, and the preference for playing field over church on Sunday. Disapproval gradually gave way to acceptance when \"wholesome recreation\" for young men in crowded cities and soldiers in faraway fields became a national priority. Protestants led in the readjustment of attitudes toward sport; Catholics, Jews, Mormons, and Muslims followed. The Irish at Notre Dame, outstanding Jews in baseball, Black Muslims in the boxing ring, and born-again athletes at Liberty University represent the numerous negotiations and compromises producing the unique American mixture of religion and sport.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e William J. Baker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0674024214\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674024212\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harvard University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/01\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.39lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.32h x 6.52w x 1.16d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2007 pg. 9\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2007 pg. 9\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2007 pg. 83\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Century\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/15\/2008 pg. 44\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristianity Today\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2010 pg. 60","brand":"William J. Baker","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43946899767551,"sku":"9780674024212","price":42.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_b63972c9-91ca-4a3f-8980-eda8f8ac1638.jpg?v=1681515666","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/playing-with-god-william-j-baker-9780674024212","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}