Contemporary Muscular Christian Values as "Culturalized Religion": A Theoretical Framework and Pilot Data

Abstract

Abstract: Muscular Christianity is widely regarded as a leading contributor to the development of contemporary sport culture in the United States. Sport historians and sociologists have recognized muscular Christianity as a "hegemonic influence on modern sport culture" (Meyer, et al., 2020, p. 171) but the implications of this insight have not been thoroughly investigated in the field of sport management. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework for future research on muscular Christianity in the context of sport management. To accomplish this, we combine theories of culturalized religion and cultural repertoires from the sociology of religion and culture literatures, arguing that muscular Christianity can be studied as culturalized religion. We support this argument with pilot survey data using the Contemporary Muscular Christian Instrument, as well as literature reviews that show that Christianity often operates as a regnant, if secularized, discourse in both sport culture and higher education. We conclude with a brief discussion of how this framework can be applied to study and teach on muscular Christianity in the sport management context.