Bodies in Motion

As a seasoned scholar of religion and sports, Arthur Remillard is often asked: Are sports the new American religion? He says that it's time to ask a new question, one that doesn't assume an understanding of religion that is restricted to institutional structures. In Bodies in Motion, Remillard explains that the fundamental element of sports is the human body in motion-the body that strives, struggles, and sweats on the field of play. From here, participants, observers, and organizers do the creative work of inscribing meaning onto these motions, of elevating them from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Thus, Bodies in Motion shows how sacred activities have been intricately entangled in sporting activities throughout America's history.