The NCAA and Religion: Insights About Non-State Governance from Sunday Play and End Zone Celebrations

One way of addressing the subject of religion and non-state governance is to consider the many questions that arise when religious groups perform the governance role. The primary focus would be on the degree to which religious entities do—and should be allowed to—govern the conduct of their members. Corollary questions would address such things as the ease (both legally and practically) with which members of the group may exit the religion; the extent to which noncompulsory or nontraditional governmental enforcement tools, such as persuasion and shaming, are effective; and the kinds of norms and enforcement tools that traditional state government entities will (and should) allow non-state organizations to employ. That approach would be both enlightening and worthwhile.