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"Throughout history, humanity has invented sports primarily as a means to meet socially with others to display skills and physical prowess and to entertain or offer excitement. Many early cultures like the ancient Greeks and the Aztec Indians incorporated religious and political elements into their games but there was always a desire for recreational play that eventually inspired the codification of early games and the invention of new ones.
Defined as what society does with its leisure time, religion's wise use for the practise of sports has had its beneficial effect not only on the human race's physical health and the promotion of modern skills, but also on its moral character. Edwards, (1973) argues that sports is a "quasi-religion" because it shares with religion certain characteristics and social functions.
Studies of religions and sports in diverse cultural settings would not only increase our understanding of other cultures but they would also increase our abilities to reflect on our own experiences and ask critical questions that enable us to see more clearly the ways in which the cultural practices of religions and sports are integrated into our lives."
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