Redeeming the habitus: a Christian sociological approach to embodiment in sport

Abstract

The human body is of central concern in both the sociology of sport and in Christianity. This paper seeks to respond to exclusively secular explanations of embodiment, which are insufficient for explaining the role and significance of religion in society broadly, and in sport particularly. Affirming an explicitly Christian understanding of the body, the paper shows how the Bourdieusian framing of embodiment-habitus-is amenable to the incorporation of the historic theological uses of the habitus concept. It will be argued that there is no need to jettison either this theological groundwork, or the theoretical insights of sociology in making sense of embodied persons in sport. Instead a more rounded conceptual tool will be produced. Finally, in conclusion, some thoughts will be offered as to the future application of this 'redeemed' habitus in the sociological study of sport and religion.

Sports Chaplaincy, Theology and Social Theory Disrupting Performance-Based Identity in Elite Sporting Contexts

“…There has been a steady growth in the academic literature surrounding sport and religion over the past 30-40 years (see Parker 2013a, 2014) and despite the fact that some scholars have expressed concern about the limited extent to which this literature has engaged with sociological ideas (see Gibbons et al 2017;Shilling and Mellor 2014), there is evidence that this position is changing (see Gibbons 2017;Tyler and Gibbons 2019). As Markula and Silk (2011) have explained, there is a wide range of sociological approaches to studying physical culture and importantly, not all of them share the same paradigmatic roots.…”

Konsep dan aplikasi konseling olahraga bagi atlet; peluang dan tantangan

“…Peak performance merupakan bentuk dasar dari penggunaan potensi secara superior yang dimiliki seseorang ; lebih efisien, kreatif, produktif, atau dapat melakukan lebih baik dari biasanya dalam beberapa cara. Peak performance menggambarkan batas atas atau maksimum keberfuangsian dan sebuah model untuk mempelajari pembentukan yang berhubungan dengan performance seseorang, seperti keunggulan, produktivitas, dan kreativitas (Toral, et al, 2019;Tyler & Gibbons, 2019).…”

“…Sekaligus menjadi tantangan untuk mengenalkan bahwa konselor dibutuhkan dalam dunia olahraga. Melalui berbagai layanan yang ada dalam konseling, keunikan, potensi serta setiap persoalan yang menghambat berkembangnya prestasi atlet akan dapat diminimalisir melalui layanan bimbingan dan konseling (Toral, et al, 2019;Tyler & Gibbons, 2019).…”