Abstract

In sport psychology research and practice, there has been a growing recognition that religion and spirituality play an important role in athletes’ lives and performances. However, there is a great deal of diversity in how religion and spirituality have been defined and characterized in the literature. Researchers have shown that while some athletes may choose to fuse their religious and athletic identities together, some other athletes may opt to keep them separate, or let go of or prioritize one over the other. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the definitions of religion and spirituality and examine how different dimensions of religion may influence the lives of athletes. We also maintain that sport psychology training and consulting should include competencies in religion and spirituality so that practitioners can provide holistic support to their clientele.

Keywords

Applied Sport Psychology
Athletic identity
Consulting
Religion

Author

Dev Roychowdhury & Noora Ronkainen

Journal

Routledge Encyclopedia of Psychology in the Real World

URL

God and Games: The Role Of Religion in Sport – V 1 | Taylor & Francis
In sport psychology research and practice, there has been a growing recognition that religion and spirituality play an important role in athletes’ lives and
Taylor & Francis