Sport in the History of Christian Cultures

Abstract

The author attempts to delineate and trace the trends in the development of sport culture among Christian peoples in various historical periods. He discusses the evolution of body practices among Christians in Russia and Western countries as well as their attitudes toward physical culture. He argues that those attitudes and values underwent multiple changes and transformations in Christian communities over the course of history. Every new epoch emerged as a result of reassessment of values and priorities of the previous ones; and these reassessments were themselves a result of intercultural bor-rowings and contacts. The author points to the special part that Christianity, especially Protestantism, played in the shaping and development of contemporary sport as we know it today.