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Muscular Christianity
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Muscular Christianity
Muscular Christianity is a term applied to a religious movement that originated in England in the mid-19th century. It is an approach to life and social outreach which emphasizes the benefits of sport and other physical exercise, as well as the healthy expression of masculinity. It is accompanied by a belief in discipline, duty and self-sacrifice. The term has been disliked by many of its practitioners.
The movement came into vogue during the Victorian era as a method of building character in pupils at English public schools. It is most often associated with English author Thomas Hughes and his 1857 novel Tom Brown's School Days, as well as writers Charles Kingsley and Ralph Connor.
Connor, 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 through organizations that combine physical and Christian spiritual development. It is influential within both Catholicism and Protestantism.
The movement does not have a central organization or codified philosophy.
Until the Age of Enlightenment, the aesthetics of the body within Christianity were concerned chiefly with holy suffering. Asceticism and the denial of bodily needs and beauty were of interest to laity and clergy alike in ancient history and the Middle Ages. A key tenet of asceticism is believing the flesh to be a distraction from divinity. Sects such as Catharism believed the flesh to be wholly corrupted.
The Muscular Christianity movement was never officially organized. Instead, it was a cultural trend that manifested in different ways and was supported by various figures and churches. Muscular Christianity can be traced back to Paul the Apostle, who used athletic metaphors to describe the challenges of a Christian life. However, the explicit advocacy of sport and exercise in Christianity did not appear until 1762, when Rousseau's Emile described physical education as important for the formation of moral character.
The term Muscular Christianity became well known in a review by barrister T. C. Sandars of Kingsley's novel Two Years Ago in the February 21, 1857, issue of the Saturday Review. The term had appeared slightly earlier. Kingsley wrote a reply to this review in which he calls the term "painful, if not offensive", but he later used it favorably on occasion.
In addition to the beliefs stated above, Muscular Christianity preached the spiritual value of sports, especially team sports. As Kingsley said, "games conduce, not merely to physical, but to moral health". An article on a popular 19th-century Briton sums it up thus: "John MacGregor is perhaps the finest specimen of Muscular Christianity that this or any other age has produced. Three men seemed to have struggled within his breast—the devout Christian, the earnest philanthropist, the enthusiastic athlete."
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Muscular Christianity
Muscular Christianity is a term applied to a religious movement that originated in England in the mid-19th century. It is an approach to life and social outreach which emphasizes the benefits of sport and other physical exercise, as well as the healthy expression of masculinity. It is accompanied by a belief in discipline, duty and self-sacrifice. The term has been disliked by many of its practitioners.
The movement came into vogue during the Victorian era as a method of building character in pupils at English public schools. It is most often associated with English author Thomas Hughes and his 1857 novel Tom Brown's School Days, as well as writers Charles Kingsley and Ralph Connor.
Connor, 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 through organizations that combine physical and Christian spiritual development. It is influential within both Catholicism and Protestantism.
The movement does not have a central organization or codified philosophy.
Until the Age of Enlightenment, the aesthetics of the body within Christianity were concerned chiefly with holy suffering. Asceticism and the denial of bodily needs and beauty were of interest to laity and clergy alike in ancient history and the Middle Ages. A key tenet of asceticism is believing the flesh to be a distraction from divinity. Sects such as Catharism believed the flesh to be wholly corrupted.
The Muscular Christianity movement was never officially organized. Instead, it was a cultural trend that manifested in different ways and was supported by various figures and churches. Muscular Christianity can be traced back to Paul the Apostle, who used athletic metaphors to describe the challenges of a Christian life. However, the explicit advocacy of sport and exercise in Christianity did not appear until 1762, when Rousseau's Emile described physical education as important for the formation of moral character.
The term Muscular Christianity became well known in a review by barrister T. C. Sandars of Kingsley's novel Two Years Ago in the February 21, 1857, issue of the Saturday Review. The term had appeared slightly earlier. Kingsley wrote a reply to this review in which he calls the term "painful, if not offensive", but he later used it favorably on occasion.
In addition to the beliefs stated above, Muscular Christianity preached the spiritual value of sports, especially team sports. As Kingsley said, "games conduce, not merely to physical, but to moral health". An article on a popular 19th-century Briton sums it up thus: "John MacGregor is perhaps the finest specimen of Muscular Christianity that this or any other age has produced. Three men seemed to have struggled within his breast—the devout Christian, the earnest philanthropist, the enthusiastic athlete."
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