Professional, Spectator, and Olympic Sports in the Context of the Terms Spiritualism and Spirituality , and in the Context of Normative Ethics

Abstract

The author has used - in his paper - two different expressions related to spirituality in its entirety: that is, spirituality (the spiritual sphere in superficial sense and meaning) and spiritualism (the spiritual sphere in deep sense and meaning). The author presented selected different definitions and manifestations of spirituality and spiritualism . The considerations on so-called “spirituality” - related to different phenomena of culture - without notions of spirituality and spiritualism - are a testimony to ordinary, typical common sense thinking only. Author would like to underline, that contemporary professional, spectator sport and the Olympic Games are only a mass culture phenomenon. A phenomenon of mass culture can be only a mirror of superficial spirituality , but not a testimony to spiritualism (that is, deep spirituality ). The ancient Olympic Games - in contrast to the concept of Coubertin’s idea of Olympism - were a manifestation of deep spirituality , that is spiritualism . The Greek Games were based on an internal unity between religiosity, art and sport.