"positive earnest muscular Christianity") and out of step with theologians such as Reinhold Niebuhr, its influence declined in American mainline Protestantism. Baylor University scholar Paul Putz summarises the purpose of Muscular Christianity as a mode to sanctify sports, positing that Muscular Christianity "sanctioned the physical activity of sports by giving it moral and religious value. Muscular Christians said that sports were not inherently sinful, nor were they simply entertainment and recreation; instead sports could be a way to develop and grow Christian character. You could become a better Christian through sport participation." An early pioneers of Muscular Christianity in the US was Amos Alonzo Stagg, a Yale-educated football coach, who in the 1880s sought to promote "Christian ideals" anchored in US middle class values such as "cooperation, belief in God, initiative, self-discipline, loyalty, respect for authority, courage, honesty." At the same time, it made a significant impact on Evangelicalism in the United States, and was promoted by organizations such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Athletes in Action, and the Promise Keepers. Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most prominent adherents of Muscular Christianity in the United States. Roosevelt believed that, "There is only a very circumscribed sphere of usefulness for the timid good man", a sentiment echoed by many at the time. Followers of Muscular Christianity ultimately found that the only solution to this was to connect faith to the physicality of the body. An example sometimes given for US Muscular Christianity was the Men and Religion Forward Movement, organized by Fred Smith, a YMCA leader, in 1910. The movement held a mix of muscular, revivalistic and social gospel sensibilities, with work directed to evangelism, bible study, boys' work, mission, and social service. The organization hosted large revivals and campaigns throughout the US. Some 1.5 million men attended 7,000 events. Muscular Christianity's popularity declined notably after World War I, when the horrors of the war caused disillusionment with Christianity in general. It appeared to be "mindless strenuosity tied not to social reform but to what cereal king J. H. Kellogg called the new religion ‘of being good to yourself’", that is, "such newly accessible leisure-time pursuits as automobiling and listening to the radio." The spread of Muscular Christianity led to many changes within the Catholic Church. The services were changed to cater more towards men and priests were required to be of a certain "manly" stature. Priests who looked