RELIGION, ethics, and sports take center stage at the 19th session of the National Sports Summit 2021 (NSS) on Wednesday with redemptorist brother and renowned author Br. Carlito “Karl” Gaspar CSsR.

Mr. Gaspar, a Doctor of Humanities at Xavier University, will spotlight the relationship of sports and religion, and its most pronounced impact on the philosophy of modern sport through the various beliefs across nations.

The Davao City native also gives a glimpse on new developments that helped create a shift which brought sports and religious practices together, and the development of the ethical value in promoting sports especially in terms of promoting fair play, sportsmanship while building the moral character and leadership of youth.

“This is a good topic for the Summit, as it will give us a better understanding of how sports and religion can peacefully coexist with each other and be tools for development and unity,” expressed Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William Ramirez.

Mr. Gaspar has written more than 20 books on ethnographic studies of Indigenous People, peace-building in Mindanao, and Mindanao history and theological discourses. His book Manobo Dreams in Arakan won the National Book Award for Social Sciences in 2013.

He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement award as author by the Cardinal Sin Catholic Mass Media Awards, and was given the Parangal ng Sambayanan award by Ateneo de Manila University, and the Datu Bago Award by Davao City in 2017.