Profiles Index

Muscular Christianity: Masculine Christianity vs Feminized Christianity
Because churches had become so associated with women and feminization, in the late 19th century Christian men began seeking changes in the nature of Christianity and Christian churches which reflected 'masculine' values. In America, this early form of Muscular Christianity used sport as a conveyor or moral values, like manliness and discipline. Today sport is used mostly as a vehicle for evangelization, but the basic principle that Christianity must be 'manly' survives in other contexts.