Discuss how John Calvin's ideas about time, work, and prayer had a negative effect on participation in sport and physical education.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

John Calvin's ideas about time, work, and prayer had a negative effect on participation in sport and physical education that has lasted into the twenty-first century. While his rationale was different from that of the early Christian monks, Calvin's theology had the consequence of working against participation in physical education, sport, and other playful activities. The monks believed that denying the body purified the soul; Calvin believed that work and prayer were a good use of God's time. Both interpretations of the Bible, however, had the same consequence: Sport, play, and physical education were to be avoided. Calvin's arguments put an emphasis on the value of the body in that what one did with his or her body determined where one's soul was bound. In so doing, Calvin argued against the ideas of the early monks that the body is evil or to be denied. Eventually, Calvin's position evolved into the Protestant work ethic, whereby one's inner moral goodness could be measured by observing his or her work habits. In this situation, by engaging in playing, a person shows that he or she is a sinner.