ABSTRACT
Noting the global popularity of sports, some religious persons and communities decide to adopt various sports to further their objectives. In this chapter, two specific examples of religious proselytizing and social integration of religious outsiders demonstrate how and why some religious communities would embed sports into their communities’ lives. First, the chapter details how conservative Christians in the United States utilize sports and sporting spaces to attempt to grow their membership base. This ultimately leads to a question of what is being converted: sports or individuals? Second, the chapter moves on to the topic of using sports as a tool for social integration. On this topic, Jewish integration in the United States through sporting activities illustrates how some religious adherents utilize sports as a mechanism to dispel stereotypes and mischaracterizations of their religious community. Ultimately, these examples lead to questions of how power dynamics integrate into these discussions.
