Religion and Sports-“in the article, how does branding (both religious and sports branding) help explain the details within the article?”

Religion, like other forms of popular culture, is often tied to individual likes, tastes, and preferences. These preferences can change, modify, and adjust over time. And consumers of religion often have the opportunity to create or remix their religion or spirituality (note: there are limits on religious freedom and experimentation in some nations or regions, so this isn’t a universal statement). In other words, there are options, and many people chose to explore those options. Thinking about religion and sports as part of an existing cultural marketplace can be offensive to some people who hold religious or spiritual views, but also provides a way of understanding these human phenomena with an analytical lens.

In this prompt, students will find one single valid journalistic resource article (not a blog or academic article) regarding religion (any religion) and sports (any sport) and analyze it from a cultural marketplace perspective. The overall analytical question is “in the article, how does branding (both religious and sports branding) help explain the details within the article?”

Details:

This assignment is about students finding one single article.

Students must find one article from a reputable news source pertaining to religion and sports in America. Articles must come from a reputable news source (not a blog, academic journal article, opinion piece, or a religiously affiliated website) and published within the last five years. Try using The New York Times, The Washington Post, or The Atlantic as beginning sites, but also search through local and state papers.

Include a working hyperlink to the article. Once a working article link is posted, the student should have two paragraphs. The first paragraph should summarize the article (150 words) with the thesis statement at the beginning of the paragraph. The second paragraph should detail what the article contributes to understanding religion and sports in contemporary America (300 words) from a cultural marketplace lens. Students should not take a side on the issue but present the facts as objectively as possible. Stay objective.

Use MLA citations. Information can be found here regarding MLA citations. Students should cite the newspaper article as well at least one other material from the module.

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