Sports Religion and Disability

<p>This ground-breaking book provides a fascinating insight into the relationship between sports (and leisure) religion and disability. In the shadow of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games at which athletes that were both able-bodied and disabled provided an extravaganza of sporting excellence and drama this text is a timely and important synthesis of ideas that have emerged in two previously distinct areas of research: (i) ‘disability sport’ and (ii) the ‘theology of disability’. Many of the elite athletes at this global sporting mega-event often explicitly displayed their religious beliefs and in turn their importance in the context of sport by observing different religious rituals and or utilising the multi-faith sports chaplaincy service. This raises a whole range of unanswered questions with regard to the intersections between sports religion and disability which to-date has been under- researched. Examples of subjects addressed in this text include: elite physical disability sport--<i>Paralympics</i>; intellectual disability sport--<i>Special Olympics</i>; reflections on the illness narrative of the cyclist Lance Armstrong through the lens of the theology of ‘radical orthodoxy’; the application of biblical athletic metaphors in understanding modern conceptions of disability sport; the role of sport and spirituality in the rehabilitation of injured British Military personnel and; the importance of sports and leisure in <i>L’Arche</i> communities. This book begins a critical conversation on these topics and many others for both researchers and practitioners.</p><p></p><p>This book was based on two special issues of the <em>Journal of Religion Disability and Health</em>.</p>