The Faith of 50 Million: Baseball, Religion, and American Culture

by Christopher H. Evans, William R. Herzog II

Overview

The Faith of 50 Million features essays by religion scholars who analyze the relationship between baseball and theology in American culture. Topics include the sense of national identity, baseball and civil religion, "saints and sinners," baseball and the American Dream with regard to racial integration, women and baseball, baseball as metaphor, and baseball as spiritual autobiography. Readers will love this fascinating intersection of baseball, race, American civil religion, and contemporary sports culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780664223052
Publisher:	Westminster John Knox Press
Publication date:	03/01/2002
Edition description:	1ST
Pages:	274
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

Editorial Reviews

The religion scholars in this intriguing collection view baseball as a civil religion that can tell us much about American character and attitudes. Although more of us probably watch the Superbowl than any baseball event, baseball, with its historic claims and ties, is still regarded by many as the national pastime. Evans and Herzog, both professors at the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, NY, present ten essays on a wide range of topics, from the racial integration of the sport to the role of women and baseball. The authors, including Stanley Hauerwas (theological ethics, Duke Univ. Divinity Sch.), Christopher H. Evans (church history, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity Sch.), and Tracy J. Trothen (ethics and pastoral theology, Univ. of Winnipeg), are especially adept at examining how baseball has always been susceptible to gambling and corruption. Although written from a Protestant religious background, this unusual anthology will appeal to readers of various faiths and is best suited for libraries with comprehensive religion or sports holdings. Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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