본 연구는 종교와 대중문화의 관계 유형과 그중 ‘종교로서의 대중문화’ 유형에 대한 논의를 스포츠의 이론과 실제를 통해 재검토하고 심화시키기 위해 시도되었 다. 일반적으로 종교와 대중문화의 관계가 양자의 상호교류에 의해 형성되는 것과 달리 스포츠는 본질적으로 종교와 유사성을 보인다는 점에서 ‘종교로서의 스포츠' 내지는 ‘스포츠 종교'로 간주되어왔다. 그러나 이러한 주장은 종교의 개념과 기능, 유사성에 대한 지나친 경도라는 두 가지 점에서 문제가 있는 것으로 비판을 받았다. 스포츠를 종교로 받아들이는 것 이 다양한 종교를 인정하는 다원주의적 관점에 기반하는 것이면서도 스포츠경기를 선과 악으로 이원화시키고 경기에서의 승리를 악을 물리치는 종교적 승리와 동일 시함으로서 단일 신학적 내지는 배타적 근본주의적 입장을 보여준다는 것도 모순 이다. 일부 스포츠 스타와 경기에 대한 팬들의 과도한 열광을 종교적 광신과 동일 시하는 것도 지나친 시각으로 보인다. 스포츠가 신앙, 의례, 희생과 초월의 본보기들을 제공하거나 현대인의 실종된 정체성과 소속감을 찾는 데에 도움을 줄 수는 있지만 인간의 운명에 관한 근원적 인 문제는 종교만이 다룰 수 있는 고유 영역이다. 따라서 종교와 스포츠의 관계는 단순히 유사성의 지적을 넘어서 종교의 정신적 평화와 스포츠의 신체적 활력, 종 교적 관용과 스포츠의 경쟁 같은 것이 상호 공존하여 어떻게 인간의 삶을 보다 행복하고 의미 있게 만들 수 있느냐가 연구의 초점이 되어야 할 것 같다. 종교가 어 떻게 갈등 극복의 유일한 통로가 되고, 가장 인기 있고 사회적 영향력이 큰 스포 츠가 어떻게 폭력과 적의를 넘어 상호 이해의 수단이 되는가에 대한 관심은 앞으 로 스포츠가 가져올 사회문화의 변동과 방향정립에 보다 더 기여하게 될 것이다.

Through an analysis on theories and practice of sports, this paper attempts to reconsider ‘popular culture as religion.’ Whereas the relations between religion and popular culture are generally formed by their mutual exchanges, sports have been regarded as a kind of religion because of peculiarities they share. Thus it is asserted that there are a number of correspondencies of sport with religion. Stadiums are identified with houses of worship, games with a final millennial battle, and superstar athletes with gods and saints. This assertion, however, has some problems. It is because that most of them are invalid, even though some of those corresponding parallels are seen. The most pivotal problems with the assertion are concerned with the definition of religion, and with comparative parallelomania. In addition, there are some contradictions in that the way to see ‘sport as religion’ is olytheistic, but biblical accounts on games are monotheistic, even exclusive and ndamentalist. It is true that sports have religious elements, such as belief, ritual, sacrifice, and transcendence, and that they help individuals to recover their self-identity and to gain sense of belonging. Nonetheless, sports cannot tell us anything about our soul and ultimate being, that belong to only the religions. In conclusion, studies on the relation between religion and sport need a comprehensive stance from which we can understand both similarities and differences between the sports and the religions, mitigate religious conflicts and antagonisms, and make sports contribute to the social and cultual changes for building one earth community, in which all nations and peoples peacefully live together.

Through an analysis on theories and practice of sports, this paper attempts to reconsider ‘popular culture as religion.’ Whereas the relations between religion and popular culture are generally formed by their mutual exchanges, sports have been regarded as a kind of religion because of peculiarities they share. Thus it is asserted that there are a number of correspondencies of sport with religion. Stadiums are identified with houses of worship, games with a final millennial battle, and superstar athletes with gods and saints. This assertion, however, has some problems. It is because that most of them are invalid, even though some of those corresponding parallels are seen. The most pivotal problems with the assertion are concerned with the definition of religion, and with comparative parallelomania. In addition, there are some contradictions in that the way to see ‘sport as religion’ is olytheistic, but biblical accounts on games are monotheistic, even exclusive and ndamentalist. It is true that sports have religious elements, such as belief, ritual, sacrifice, and transcendence, and that they help individuals to recover their self-identity and to gain sense of belonging. Nonetheless, sports cannot tell us anything about our soul and ultimate being, that belong to only the religions. In conclusion, studies on the relation between religion and sport need a comprehensive stance from which we can understand both similarities and differences between the sports and the religions, mitigate religious conflicts and antagonisms, and make sports contribute to the social and cultual changes for building one earth community, in which all nations and peoples peacefully live together.

Sport as Religion, Sport Religion, Superstar Athletes, Sport Fan, Parallelomania, Sociocultural Change