Welcome! I am a historian, author, and educator who focuses most of my time thinking about the intersection of sports and Christianity. I happen to have the perfect job for this: Assistant Dire​ctor of the Faith & Sports Institute at Baylor's Truett Seminary. 

For media inquiries, speaking engagements, or any other questions, you can find my contact information in the menu above. To read through some of my online publications, check out the links below. You can also follow me on twitter: @p_emory. 

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SELECTED ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

CHRISTIANITY TODAY
​​•"Super Bowl Fans Don’t Need a Linebacker Jesus" (February 8, 2023)​​
•"After Answered Prayers for Damar Hamlin, What’s Next?" (January 10, 2023)
​​•"Mine Eyes Have Seen the Thrill of Victory, and the Agony of Defeat" (September 20, 2022)​​
•"Why We Fight About Football Prayers" (April 22, 2022)
•"The Witness of the Black Church Rings Through NBA History" (Feb. 2, 2022)
​• "Bill Glass, Football Star Who Changed Evangelical Approach to Sports and Prisons" (Dec. 9, 2021)
• "Baptists Can Dunk: 5 Facts About Baylor Basketball’s Historic NCAA Championship Win" (April 6, 2021)
​• "ORU Basketball Fans Know to ‘Expect a Miracle’​" (March 26, 2021)
​• "Black Christians Play a Crucial Role in Athlete Activism" (August 31, 2020)​
​• "Oklahoma v. Baylor: Rivals on the Field, Partners in Ministry" (November 14, 2019)​
• “The Philadelphia Eagles Get the ‘God Squad’ Treatment” (September 6, 2018)
• “The Anti-Racism Activist That History Forgot” (June 5, 2018)
• “God and the Gridiron Game” (September 6, 2017)
• “Finally, Jackie Robinson’s Faith is Getting the Attention It Deserves” (June 29, 2017)
• “Ten Christian Athletes Who Were Tebowing Before Tebow” (September 28, 2016)​
• “The Humble Coach Behind Celebrity Christianity” (February 19, 2016)​

RELIGION & POLITICS
• "Revisiting the Legacy of Jackie Robinson: the Christian, the Athlete, and the Activist" (Nov. 1, 2022)
• “Football and the Political Act of Prayer” (August 28, 2018)
• "The Role of Sports Ministries in the NFL Protests” (October 17, 2017)
• "Nebraska: A Cornhusker Prays with FCA" (March 17, 2015)

SLATE
• "The Black Man Who Invented Nebraska Football" (November 13, 2020)
• "John Wooden's Homespun Creed Was Not So Homespun" (May 17, 2017)

RELIGION NEWS SERVICE
• "How the Coronavirus Could Change America’s Religion of Sports" (March 25, 2020)
• "Patriots 'Character Coach' Jack Easterby Joins Long Tradition of Chaplains” (February 1, 2019)

GOSPEL COALITION
• "Leadership Lessons From Sports" (August 14, 2020)
• "'God Disguised as Michael Jordan' (and My Evolving View of Sports)" (May 22, 2020)
• "One Couple, Two Responses to Grief" (September 25, 2019)
•“7, Maybe 8, Books to Read on Football and American Culture” (August 27, 2018)
• “The Untold Story of Olympic Champion Eric Liddell” (May 6, 2016)
• "One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America” (July 3, 2015)

RELIGION IN AMERICAN HISTORY
• "Sportianity at Forty: Rereading Frank Deford's Series on Religion in Sport" (July 20, 2016)
• "Looking for Religion in Boys Among Men" (June 19, 2016)
•"Evangelical Women and Sports Ministry" (July 20, 2015)

FAITH & SPORTS
•​"Ahmaud Arbery and 'Running The Race Well'" (May 9, 2020)
•​"What Would James Naismith Think About Michael Jordan and 'The Last Dance'?" (April 23, 2020)
•​"Leadership Profile: John Westbrook" (March 18, 2020)

SPORTIANITY
•​"Hugh Freeze, Liberty University, and the Past and Future of Jerry Falwell's Football Dreams" (December 28, 2018)
•"The Fundamentalist Frank Merriwell" (July 3, 2018)
• "How Billy Graham Made Peace With Sunday Sports" (March 19, 2018)
• "The Women Who Were Christian Athletes Before Title IX" (August 14, 2017)

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