Muscular Christianity
![Illustration by F. R. Gruger for the novel Hepsey Burke, by F. N. Westcott, 1915. The Episcopal rector Donald Maxwell (left) gets little pay because of interference from Sylvester Bascom (right) so Maxwell shovels stone to support himself and his wife. Here, he confronts Bascom, who accuses him of having no pride.](/Images/godic/202501/28/Muscular_Christianity_Gruger2446.jpg")
![A mural in a YMCA emphasizing godliness and physical health.](/Images/godic/202501/28/Inspirational_Message_in_the_Fitness_Center_of_the_YMCA_in_New_Philadelphia,_OH2446.jpg")
![The American football player George Wilson prays before a game. Wilson](/Images/godic/202501/28/George_Wilson_Buffalo_Bills_prayer2446.jpg")
Muscular Christianity is a Christian commitment to piety and physical health, basing itself on the New Testament, which sanctions the concepts of character (Philippians 3:14) and well-being (Corinthians1 6:19-20).
The movement came into vogue during the Victorian era and stressed the need for energetic Christian evangelism in combination with an ideal of vigorous masculinity. Historically, it is most associated with the English writers Charles Kingsley and Thomas Hughes, and in Canada with Ralph Connor, though the name was bestowed by others. American President Theodore Roosevelt was raised in a household that practiced Muscular Christianity. Roosevelt, Kingsley, and Hughes promoted physical strength and health as well as an active pursuit of Christian ideals in personal life and politics. Muscular Christianity has continued itself through organizations that combine physical and Christian spiritual development. It is influential within both Catholicism and Protestantism.