Fewer kids are playing sports today, and those who do play are often not served well. The negative outcomes are several, including “elite” pay-to-play exclusion and the normalizing of single sport specialization, leading to an increased number of injuries due to year-round play. But aside from social consequences and bodily harm, and issues of inequality and injury—which are all part of the brave new world of youth sports—there are also damaging spiritual effects.
Worrying about the possible spiritual dangers of youth sports goes back a long way. Some of the fathers of the Second Vatican Council raised such concerns. They feared sports could tempt too many people away from the practice of religion.
It was not an unfounded fear. As the authors of On the Eighth Day: A Catholic Theology of Sport write, one could argue that “sport has gradually displaced traditional religion on a functional level.” They continue, “Today, many spend their Sundays with sport rather than in church. Sport gives people the type of social connections, traditions, identity, and even meaning that is usually found in religion. To put it simply, the pews are empty, but the bleachers are full.”
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