Morality of Christian Athletes in Competitive Sports - A Review

Abstract

Morality of Christian Athletes in Competitive Sports - A ReviewAthletes' moral beliefs and values are challenged by competitive sports just as long as the professional elite-sports system exists. Christian athletes, as a distinguished group among competing athletes, are supposed to be people with specific and distinctive moral guidelines in everyday life that they validly integrate in competitive sports as well. No matter if they are competing in triathlon, athletics, or playing soccer, if they are playing in the lowest or highest division of their sport, or if they are being faced with unmoral situations, that is what we expect. They therefore stand in contrast to some athletes of today's competitive sports who do not seem to have any guideline at all anymore, who would not shy at anything to win a competition and who therefore give competitive sports a rather negative touch. The following review should shed some light on the world of Christian sportsmen. The relationships in the field of Christianity, ethics, morality, and sports will be investigated in-depth via analyzing the relevant literature. Both theoretical and empirical findings will be systematized according to their inner structure. Even though the findings to report are rare, the particular field of study reveals itself as an under-researched topic, likewise theoretically and empirically.