The olympic movement and mutual understanding: the perspective of sports and olympism in christianity and islam

Introduction

Olympism intends blending sport with culture and education and demands the respect for fundamental ethical principles. The Olympic movement wants to contribute "to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play" (IOC 2001). How can we reach such high ideals? Which perspective of sports and the Olympic Games have the to biggest world religions, Chritianity and Islam? Which part can they play in finding a way to mutual understanding which includes different cultures? Which ethical impulses can they supply?

Methods

Qualitative data are collected from researchers in the area of religion and sport, basic texts/scriptures and recent resolutions, and representatives of the individual religions. The reception and interpretation of the data will be carried out through qualitative interviews and content analysis.

Results

Principally consider both Christianity and Islam sport and physical activity as good and useful for taking care of body and mind. Especially the protestant ethic encourages to an attitude which supports top level sports performance. The Islamic ethic differs from this Christian perspective. In the last decades especially Christian churches are engaged in Olympic Games both in form of ethical reflective statements and the presence of representatives.

Discussion/Conclusion

The Olympic Games are shaped by the western part of the world with Christian cultural background. If we want to reach the high ideals of the Olympic Charters ethical principles, it would be worthwhile to have a closer look at other religions. In order to get new impulses in handling the ethical problems which confronts the Olympic Games it could be useful to step into a reflective dialog with the religions. If we want a mutual understanding we are needed to be open for other perspectives.

References

[1]. Hoffman,S.J. (ed.) (1992). Sport and Religion
[2]. IOC (2001). Olympic Charter