Douglas Pratt is a Professor of Religious Studies in the department of Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Ethics at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. His areas of expertise include Christianity, Islam, Christian-Muslim relations, interreligious dialogue, and religious issues such as pluralism, fundamentalism and extremism.

Eileen Barker is a professor emeritus in the sociology department at the University of London. She studies minority religions, including cults, sects and New Religious Movements, and relevant social conditions.

Read New York Times columnist Frank Bruni’s Dec. 10, 2011, essay about Tim Tebow.

Read a Dec. 10, 2011, Wall Street Journal column by Patton Dodd that examines “the deep-seated anxieties in American society about the intertwining of religion and sports.”

Read a Nov. 30, 2011, article from Christianity Today wondering if he should tone down his public expressions of faith to avoid alienating people.

Read an article posted at Crosswalk.com comparing Tim Tebow to the great Depression-era racehorse Seabiscuit.

Read a Nov. 11, 2011, online column at The Washington Post, about the sex abuse coverup at Pennsylvania State.

At CNN, Tom Krattenmaker, author of the book Onward Christian Athletes, wrote that Jim Tressel’s fall “should make us rethink sports evangelization.”

Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel resigned in May 2011 after a series of sordid revelations about the program that he led, often citing his Christian faith as inspiration. Read about Tressel’s resignation in a May 30, 2011, article from Espn.