ABSTRACT
The development of Muscular Christianity in the second half of the nineteenth century has had a sustained impact on how Anglo-American Christians view the relationship between sport, physical fitness and religion. It has been argued that the birth of Muscular Christianity in Victorian Britain forged a strong ‘link between Christianity and sport’ that ‘has never been broken’ (Crepeau 2001, 2). The emergence of neo-Muscular Christian groups during the latter half of the twentieth century (Putney 2001) and the promotion of sport in Catholic institutions such as the University of Notre Dame can be seen as a direct consequence of Victorian Muscular Christianity. Modern evangelical Protestant organisations (i.e. Sports Ministry) such as Christians in Sport (CIS) in the UK and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and Athletes in Action (AIA) in America, have resurrected many of the basic theological principles used to promote sport and physical fitness in Victorian Britain.
