Christianity as Public Religion::A Justification for using a Christian Sociological Approach for Studying the Social Scientific Aspects of Sport

The vast majority of social scientific studies of sport have been secular in nature and/or have tended to ignore the importance of studying the religious aspects of sport. In light of this, Shilling and Mellor (2014) have sought to encourage sociologists of sport not to divorce the ‘religious’ and the ‘sacred’ from their studies. In response to this call, the goal of the current essay is to explore how the conception of Christianity as ‘public religion’ can be utilised to help justify the use of a Christian sociological approach for studying the social scientific aspects of sport. After making a case for Christianity as public religion, we conclude that many of the sociological issues inherent in modern sport are an indirect result of its increasing secularisation and argue that this justifies the need for a Christian sociological approach. We encourage researchers to use the Bible, the tools of Christian theology and sociological concepts together, so to inform analyses of modern sport from a Christian perspective

Oceania : Australia

Abstract not availabl

A regenerating flame? Communal populism and the Olympic torch relay in millennial Australia

The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Torch Relay provided a focus for two different forms of populism in a host Olympic nation. Australians' initial scepticism towards the Olympic organisers and other sporting, political and business elites, was expressed in waves of popular discont~nt 11t the association of the Olympic Flame with celebrities and with the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) itself. Despite such intense feeling, the Olympic Torch became a symbol of hope and regeneration, eliciting a romantic form of communal populism in rural and urban Australia. In either form, public emotion suggested problems of social discontent in an era of rapid globalising change in Australian society and institutions, including sport

Citizens, Immigrants and Diasporas: Australia and Japan

This book examines diasporas in the context of globalization as they exist today and with an eye to the future. Each chapter emphasizes the specificity of diaspora to culture, place and moment, its multi-faceted and interdisciplinary nature, and the significance of how identity is negotiated within the triadic space of self, home and 'host' nation

On the margins of the good oval : women and Australian football

Not availabl

Got so many bad habits: Federal politicians, the public, and media

Abstract not availabl

The barbarian invasion: the battle against the sydneyfication of the ABC sports news

Not availabl

'The 'dominance' of nationalism in a globalising Australia

Not availabl

Colonial to global: paradoxes of expatriation in Australia's diasporic story

Abstract not availabl

Australian football the people's game 1958-2058

An exploration of the highs and lows, the past and also the 21st century future of the Australian game - on the field and offfrom AFL to grass roots - in a changing Australi