Sports and Religion: Play, Sacrifice, Transcendence, Money, and Gender

Profe Carrasco is a Mexican-American historian of religions focused on religious experiences and expressions in the Americas—in comparative perspective. He has benefited from teaching in the Harvard Extension School for over 20 years.

Laanna Carrasco is an experienced educator, writer, and researcher whose work explores the intersections of sports, identity, spiritual rituals, and social justice. She holds a master's in journalism from the University of Colorado and a master's in exercise science from the University of Central Florida. For over two decades, she has advocated for women in sports and written extensively on women's health, performance, and representation. Carrasco has served as a personal trainer, strength coach, and senior editor for a performance-based publishing company, where she authored multiple evidence-based guides on strength training and women's health. She currently contributes to educational equity initiatives and produces content on race and athletics, including an in-progress documentary about the desegregation of college basketball in Washington, DC, in the 1950s. A bilingual advocate for inclusive learning, Carrasco has taught in both English and Spanish and mentored youth on the US-Mexico border. She also serves on the National Strength and Conditioning Association's (NSCA) Women's Committee, advocating for female coaches and athletes in a male-dominated field. Drawing from her background in journalism, history, and sports science, Carrasco brings a multidisciplinary lens to the study of sports and religion, with a focus on cultural identity, power structures, and the transformative potential of athletic narratives.