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 learn more about my research interests and publications, check out my CV or visit one of the pages above. To check out some of my online publications and media interviews, check out the links below.  You can also follow me on twitter: @p_emory. 

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ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

CHRISTIANITY TODAY
​​•"Basketball is a Beautiful Game, but Not a Blueprint for Society" (February 8, 2023)
•"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)

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)

MEDIA AND INTERVIEWS

PODCASTS / RECORDED TALKS
​•"Episode 264: Paul Putz," Baylor Connections Podcast (June 2023)​​
•"Jesus and James Naismith: The Christian History of Basketball and its Lessons for the Church Today," Truett Seminary Sports Ministry Chapel (March 2023)
​​•"Education and Transformation," Sport.Faith.Life Podcast (March 2023)
•"Interpreting the Culture of Sports," Faith & Sports Forum [with Katelyn Beaty and Justin Bailey] (November 2022)
​​•"ARC Talks: Athletics, Race, Christianity," [with Malcolm Foley, Christina Edmondson, and John Onwuchekwa] (February 2022)
•"Be Like Mike?" John Fea's The Way Of Improvement Leads Home Podcast (June 2020)
•"Sportianity," John Fea's The Way Of Improvement Leads Home Podcast (October 2018)
​•"The Complicated Legacy Of Pioneering Football Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg," NPR's Only A Game (February 2017)

INTERVIEWED/QUOTED
​•"Ideas in Progress: Paul Putz on Christian Athletes," Current (May 2023)
​•"How Basketball Could Boost Your Spiritual Health," Deseret News (April 2023)
​•"Super Bowl Ads will Tout Jesus ‘Gets Us’ to the Masses," Associated Press (February 2023)
​•"Prayers for Damar Hamlin Show Bond Between Football and Faith," New York Times (January 2023)
​•"Pray for Damar: Public Prayer Blitz Follows Hamlin Collapse," Associated Press (January 2023)
​•"Understanding the Role of Religion in Sports," Deseret News (August 2022)
​​•"For Latter-day Saints like Andy Reid of Kansas City Chiefs, Football and Faith Go Hand in Hand," Religion News Service (February 2021)
​​•"Use Sports to Talk to Kids about Social Justice," Lifehacker (June 2020)
​​•"Faith, Football and the Fervent Religious Culture at Dabo Swinney's Clemson," Sports Illustrated (September 2019)
​•"NFL Scoops From Heaven," The Ringer (March 2018)

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