The question of faith, religion and God has remained somewhat on the fringes of the great debates in sports philosophy. Today we live with the enormous paradox that, on the one hand, in global terms, and in the Western world in particular, the issue of spirituality has received massive treatment, a consequence of the nihilistic void of the 20th century that has been accentuated more recently in the post-COVID-19 era, and on the other hand, we are apparently witnessing a progressive move away from strongly institutionalised religious structures. Even so, and regardless of the causes or complex set of circumstances that may help to understand contemporary times, the fact is that religion is a relatively neglected space when we think about sport. And when considered, it tends to focus on issues associated with performance, for example, the relationship with Islam, clothing, nutritional restrictions, or the daily or annual calendar, or it leads to a debate on tolerance that is often held hostage by the deepest superficiality. If the nihilism, secularism and scientism of our time is pushing us towards a hyper-technological era where time itself is threatened with fragmentation, religion is approaching a tribal and irrational perception, as if prehistoric, leaving institutions and believers between total vulnerability and radicalism. Since fanatical extremism is one of the dark sides of religion (as well as sport), what we propose as a meeting place is an open debate and reflection, but one that is demanding in terms of thinking about the depth and complexity that will unite us over these two days in Porto.
The sport and religion conference, focussed on the relationship between philosophy and sport, seeks to be a horizon for reflections and contributions from across the spectrum of academic knowledge, promoting the sharing of research, thought and practice. The conference will have a free and open spirit, but encourages the submission of proposals, as an indication only, on the following themes:
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- Philosophy of religion and sport
- Art, Religion and Sport
- Faith
- Publicising authors and their thought
- God, immanence and transcendence
- Sport and tolerance
- Theology, sacred texts and sport
- Religion, modernity and antiquity
- The body in religions and sport
- Mysticism and mystical authors
- Ecumenism, religions and diversity
- Religion, aesthetics and culture
- Sport and spirituality
- Case studies
- History of sport and history of religion
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Abstracts should be sent to the email address mlcosta@fade.up.pt and constantinomar@gmail.com and should not exceed 500 words, with 3 to 5 keywords. They can be submitted in Portuguese, Spanish or English and must be accompanied by a short biographical note and a high-resolution photograph of the author. Presentations will last 20 minutes in Portuguese, Spanish or English.
The conference texts will be published in printed and e-book format in Portuguese, Spanish and English.
Submission: until 15th November 2023
Notification of decision: 20th November 2023
