Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 11-13-2020 11:45 AM Religion in Modern Sports Fanaticism: From Classical Antiquity to Online Sports Forums Matthew Prokopiw, The University of Western Ontario Supervisor: Dr. Michael Gardiner, The University of Western Ontario A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Theory and Criticism © Matthew Prokopiw 2020 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Sociology of Religion Commons, and the Sports Studies Commons Recommended Citation Prokopiw, Matthew, "Religion in Modern Sports Fanaticism: From Classical Antiquity to Online Sports Forums" (2020). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 7427. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7427 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. ii Abstract In tracing the concept of religion to its theorization and study by French sociologist Émile Durkheim this dissertation presents concrete and abstract support for a commonly forwarded proposition: fanaticism of the modern spectacle of sports amounts to religiosity, characterized by a social logic of vitality and totemism, notably present as well in the ancient Roman