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This article analyses a student group affiliated with the Christian sports network KRIK Sweden that gathers newly-moved-in students with a Christian revivalist background, in particular young men. Drawing on theories of identity as corporeal and gendered, we argue that while the loose network organization is new to this context, behavioral codes and sporting preferences are marked by a Christian revivalist heritage underlining inclusiveness and playfulness, giving room for a “soft” masculinity in a sporting context. We suggest that the latter, in combination with organizational novelties and older norms for interaction – are key to the group’s popularity among young men.Key words: youth; sport and Christianity; students; revivalist Christianity; Sweden. Artikeln undersöker och analyserar en studentavdelning tillhörande det kristna sportnätverket KRIK – en lokalgrupp som samlar nyinflyttade, till största del manliga, väckelsekristna studenter. I artikeln anläggs teoretiska perspektiv på identitet som kroppsligt förankrad och genuskodad. Vi menar att medan nätverksformen är ny i sammanhanget är beteendekoder och sportkulturen präglad av ett väckelsekristet arv där lekfullhet, omhändertagande och inkluderande utgör centrala drag. Inom gruppen finns också möjlighet att leva ut en väckelsekristen ”mjuk” maskulinitet vilket, i kombination med den lösa organisationsformen, bidrar till gruppens popularitet bland unga väckelsekristna män. Key words: ungdomar, kristendom och sport, studenter, väckelsekristendom, Sverige

This chapter introduces material studies, a theoretical field rooted in performance studies, embodiment phenomenology, critical theory and post-functionalist anthropology. It lays out central analytical points and presents four approaches that can be used in the study of NRMs: 1) material mediation – the process by which objects and bodies are transformed into mediators of the otherworldly; 2) material socialization – how practitioners learn religion by acquiring correct ways of relating to objects and material worlds; 3) circulation of artifacts – how religious objects are produced, distributed and used; and 4) foodways – the process where food and drink is cultivated, prepared and consumed, and its importance for the cultivation of religious communities. The chapter includes an example of how material theory can be applied, and a discussion of how such perspectives can contribute to, and further, the study of new religions.