Vol. 1 No. 1, February 2022

The Church, Youth and Sports: Balancing Spirituality and Wellness

C. O. Fasan, R. A. Moronfolu, Setonji, N.A. & Onifade O.T.

Abstract

Between sports and fervent Christian beliefs exist a close philosophical relationship, which began to exist in the middle of
the nineteenth century. The relationship between sports and Christianity advanced increasingly during the latter part of
the second half of the 19th century, sustaining a persuasive vision of how the Church and others viewed the relationship
between sports, physical fitness and spirituality. This paper examines concepts associated with Christianity in relation
with youth and sports as well as establishing a balance between spirituality and wellness within the context of Christianity.

Keywords

church, youth, sports, spirituality and wellness.

Full Text

Download

References

Aplin, N. G. (2009). The Passage of Time: Laying the Foundations of Sport. In Aplin N. (Ed.) Perspectives on Physical
Education and Sports Science in Singapore: An Eye on the Youth Olympics 2010. McGraw-Hill, Education Singapore.
Bateman, M. (2016). Church and sport. What’s the point? Retrieved from www.london.anglican.org/articles/
church-sport-point/
Binkowska-Bury, M., Kruk, W., Szymańska, J., Marć, M., Penar-Zadarko, B., & Wdowiak, L. (2010). Psychosocial factors
and health-related behavior among students from south-East Poland. A. Agricul. Environ. Med. Vol. 17, Pp. 107–113.
Carpenter, P. (2001). The Importance of a Church Youth Club’s Sport Provision to Continued Church Involvement.
Accessed from https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723501253005
Cianciara, D. & Wysocki, M. J. (2011). Position of health at international relations. Part. Structural dimensions of health.
Przeql Epidemiol; Vol. 65: Pp. 371-7.
Coakley, J. (2003). Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies (8th ed.) McGraw-Hill Companies, New York.
Conner, M. & Norman, P. (1996). Predicting health behaviour. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Crepeau, R. C. (2001). Playing with God: The History of Athletes Thanking the “Big Man Upstairs. Retrieved from http://
www.poppolitics.com/archives/2001/03/Playingwith-God-The-history-of-athletes-thanking-the-big-man-upstairs.
Deardorff, D. L. & White, J. (2008). The Image of God in the Human Body: Essays on Christianity and Sports. Faculty
Books. 75. Edwin Mellen Press. available at http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/faculty_books/75
Eitzen, D. S. & Sage, G. H. (1997). Sociology of North America Sport. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill., p.3.
Hannon, L., Sawyer, P. & Allman, R. M. (2011). The influence of community and the built environment on physical activity.
J Aging Health. Published online before print. doi:0.1177/0898264 311424430.
Heron, M. (2015). Deaths: leading causes for 2012, Natl. Vital Stat. Rep. 64 (10)
Joseph, R. P., Ainsworth, B. E., Mathis, L., Hooker, S. P., & Keller, C. (2017). Incorporating religion and spirituality into the
design of community-based physical activity programs for-African American women: a qualitative inquiry. BMC. Res.
Notes 10:506. doi: 10.1186/s13104-017-2830-3
Keener, R. E. (2010). Sports in Church. Retrieved from https://churchexecutive.com/archives/sports-in-church
Koenig, H. G. (2004). Religion, Spirituality, and Medicine: Research Findings and Implications for Clinical Practice.
Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, Duke University Medical Center. Southern Medical Association, Vol. 97, Pp.
1194-1199.
Krobbuaban, B. & Prompakping, B. (2011). Meanings and indicators of wellbeing in health in the perspective of farmers in
the northeast of Thailand. J Med Assoc Thai; Vol. 94: 242-9.
Lee, J. W. (2004). An Overview of the Reciprocating Relationship Between Sport and Religion. Smart Online Journey, Vol.
1(1), Pp. 26-28.
Loiselle, M. & Lauretta, M. K. (2009). Breaking barriers and creating common ground through a holistic approach:
T
he Medicine wheel. Workshop conducted on May 2006 at the First north American Conference on spirituality
and social work held at the University of waterloo Ontario. (Online). Retrieved from http://www.bing.com/
search?q=1.%09Loiselle+%2c+Margot%2c+
Lucas, J. A. (1976). Victorian Muscular Christianity: Prologue to the Olympic Games, Olympic Review. 991100, 49-52.
Lun, V. M., & Bond, M. H. (2013). Examining the relation of religion and spirituality to subjective well-being across
national cultures. Psychol. Relig. Spiritual. Vol. 5, Pp. 304–315. doi: 10.1037/a0033641
Mangan, J. A. (2006). Athleticism in the Victorian and Edwardian Public School. Cambridge University Press, Great Britain.
Maugans, T. A. (1996). The Spiritual History. Archives of Family Medicine. Vol. 5, Pp. 11-16.
Puchalski, C. M. (2001). Spirituality and Health: The Art of Compassionate Medicine. Hospital Physician, Pp. 30-36.
Puchalski, C. M., Vitillo, R. & Hull, S. K. (2014). Improving the spiritual dimension of whole person care: reaching national
and international consensus. J Palliat Med. Vol. 17: Pp. 642–656.
Putney, C. (2001). Muscular Christianity: Manhood and Sports in Protestant America, 1880-19]0. Harvard University Press,
Cambridge.
Robert, C. R. (2020). Spirituality and Health. American Academy of Family Physicians. Retrieved from www.familydoctor.
org/Spirituality%20and%20Health%20-%20familydoctor.org.mhtml
Sulmasy, D. P. (2009). Spirituality, religion, and clinical care. Chest. Vol. 135: Pp. 1634–1642.
Sung, T. H. & Aplin, N. G. (2010). Christianity and sport: A promising combination. International Conference of Physical
Education and Sports Science (III ICPESS 2010) on “Youth in Physical Education and Sport”, National Institute of
Education. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Ward, B., Schiller, J. & Goodman, R. (2014). Multiple chronic conditions among US adults: a 2012 update, Prev. Chronic
Dis. (130389)