'''Muscular Christianity''' was a worldwide Protestant phenomenon that seems to have begun sometime in the early 19th century. The rise of [[YMCA]]'s throughout the western can be used to trace its growth and movement. Its appearance in America has been dated to 1880 by a Harvard University-published scholar.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tkgpnpfWm2gC ''Muscular Christianity: Manhood and Sports in Protestant America, 1880-1920''], Clifford Putney,Harvard University Press, 2003, ISBN 0674011252, ISBN 9780674011250, 300 pages</ref>
== See also ==
*[[Atheism and physical fitness]]
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