Is the YMCA Still Religious? Still Christian? Really?

What is the future of historically religious organizations like the YMCA and churches in North America and Western Civilization?

Can the Y adapt and survive as a faith-based institution in these days and decades ahead?

The question still gets asked (and googled): Is the Y still religious? Is it still Christian? Does the answer still matter?

My answer is Yes, Yes, and Yes.

The spirit-full foundations go down deep, our origins and history are rich in this regard; Martti Muukkonen writes candidly (and well-researched) about this at length.

This extended reflection below on the reality and role of religion and Christianity in the Y hopefully will spur a constructive yet critical conversation that “builds a healthy spirit, mind and body for all.”

For me, context is often key to discerning what factors are shaping us now, where they are sourced, and what it is arcing towards.

Oversimplification can be a way of starting to make sense of complex and ambiguous circumstances.

By combining broader insights, one can begin to discern relevant insights – the questions then follow on how it seems to correspond with our experience and awareness of reality.

What is reality? How to describe it?

As St. Paul muses with the Corinthian Christians in the mid first century – we can only see and know partially – this includes love, the present, ourselves, the cosmos.

Everyone has multiple lens through which we see and interpret the world, and a myriad of biases that shape how you participate in and interpret it; some we become aware of, many we don’t.

What is the reality of the YMCA and the church in America these days?

How is it really doing? Well? Amazing? Poorly? Disgraceful? Compared to what? Utopia? Dystopia? Status quo?

What kind of criteria should we use?

Numbers? Stories? Time? Facilities? Conversions? Members? Likes?

To ask more probing questions: what is the role of religion in reality?

What is the value of the Christian religion in historical reality?

What is the foundation of Protestant churches in America?

What are the religious roots of the YMCA’s existence and success? And failures?

Should the original religious (and cultural/political) purposes of the YMCA have an enduring authority to determine our missional and organizational health or viability?

For the sake of this article, I’m humbly attempting to add to the growing conversation in a meaningful and nuanced way the role of faith and religion as a dimension of diversity in the YMCA.

Some of my key assumptions:

+ “religion” is the most dynamic and pervading dimension of reality (religion also defined as faith tradition or existential ideology).

+ North America is a highly religious continent and full of religious-shaped cultures, and every institution is profoundly affected by religion, either caught in its orbit or resisting it in some manner.

+ organized faith traditions are public institutions (often as 501(c)3 non-profits), and local congregations are crucial manifestations of religious traditions and values in its vast variety (like caring for the poor and children, spiritual formation, etc.); participants in it cover the full spectrum of adherence from high to low, passionate to cynical, educated to still learning.

+ for Christianity in its many religious manifestations, it is primarily expressed culturally and sociologically; thus it’s many branches and traditions and denominations and sects are reflections of the divisions generally understood between the Eastern and Western Civilizations, the Global North and Global South, Reformation and Counter-Reformations, Empires and Nationalism, Technological Adaptations in every sphere of human industry. And more….

+ religion in general is also an anthropological reality; a profound way of vulnerable humans striving in tribes for survival amidst the terrifying yet sustaining natural forces of Earth and the Milky Way and our Universe(s).

+ an enduring role of religion, according to Rene Girard, is to provide sustaining ways for communities to deal with the recurring murderous violence endemic to all people always – in order for a tribe to thrive in the dangerous natural world, they had to overcome the human pride and envy which continually tempts them to kill one another and destroy their capacity to organize and trust each other.

+ beyond the particular expressions of classic religions like Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. is the commonly observed role of religion in their tribes and nations of origins for surviving and thriving, making sense of their existence in particular geographies and generations, amidst the continual technological adaptions humans make out of necessity, opportunity and ability.

+ interestingly, the great religious traditions just mentioned are all originally Eastern Civilization realities, from the Middle/South; however they manifested and took root in the West, they are at their heart tribal, collectivist, and Eastern.

+ often “strengths” and “weakness” are two sides of the same coin, so to speak, or more about how the same tool is applied either appropriately or inappropriately – aka: to a hammer everything is a nail, or as in Ecclesiastes, there is a time for everything, including a time to plant and a time to uproot, to laugh and to weep – and it is wisdom to discern right timing and action.

+ the strengths and weaknesses of religion are similar: it provides boundaries for what is acknowledged as true and real, and most conducive to surviving and thriving of the tribe, and excludes those who deny or reject it; for those in acquiescence, the boundaries and exclusion are right and good, for those who resist or rebel, well they draw the opposing conclusion.

+ a strength and weakness of religion and cultures is the spectrum of individuality and collectivism, of the duty to love the tribe and sacrifice self, of the submission of self to a greater authority and tradition: to those who are drawn to the ends of the spectrums (hyper-individualistic vs. hyper-collectivist) the more divergent and dire are their differing descriptions of what is healthy vs sick…

+ all of this generalized oversimplification to highlight the Western context of the Protestant Reformation (Northern Europeans: German, Swiss, French) against the Catholic Church (Southern Europe: Italy), which itself was deeply shaped by the Great Schism five centuries earlier when the Western Roman Church broke from the Eastern Byzantine Church (a cultural, political, economic, geographical, hence a theological driven split)

+ three centuries into the Protestant Reformation (which also corresponded with the Renaissance and Enlightenment, Industrial Revolution, and Imperial transitions to Nation-States) emerged the Young Men’s Christian Association – a humanitarian and religious product of its age.

So, what cultural realities created space and success for the YMCA then and now?

Within the VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) of its day, the Y was led by men who lamented the decay of their cultural realities, and particular on the vulnerable young men and their families amidst the rapid changes in society:

• unprecedented chaos in communities
• increased conditions of poverty
• upended social and religious traditions
• undermined confidence in assumptions about the good, true, beautiful and just
• it overemphasized the importance of individuality at the expense of their duty to family and place
• these young men were cut off from sources of stability and forced to make their own meaning
• they are now in competition with everyone else for work and building off a life
• the Y sought to create an association for these young men to offer a safe place and trustworthy friends in the British Protestant evangelical Christian tradition

Religion permeates everything, and though in 1844 there were already secularizing forces in effect in the West, sacred expectations and accounts of reality still held a tentative dominance – thus the flourishing of the YMCA in Europe, and the world.

And so now part the fate of the Y is tied to the religious energy and sacred influence in its Western civilization and evangelical Protestantism context.

The YMCA was a religious response to the evil manifestations of the Industrial Revolution, the gross impoverishing of families, the individualistic and secularist fruits of the Imperial and Empirical Enlightenment, and the shifting social values of Victorian London.

It is not insignificant that in light of the particular religious and cultural motivations and goals of the YMCA, that it sought to work alongside churches ecumenically instead of against them, that it sought to avoid doctrinal divisions, it tried to focus on individual and associational loyalty to Jesus Christ and the kingdom he embodied and proclaimed, as interpreted via The Beatitudes and the Gethsemane Prayer.

It is also not insignificant to observe the principle of protesting inherent to Protestant Christianity, the freedom of belief it emphasizes to individuals, and communities.

All of this to note that secularism can be seen and understood in part as an expression of the Christian freedom of belief and a form of protest that is inherent to Protestant Christianity.

When those hurt or betrayed by the Church protest the abuses, and are either ignored or further abused, disillusionment, revolution, and unbelief can be born and take root.

Per the Protestant Principle (Tillich), only an “always reforming” religion radically loyal to the truth and reality, to human dignity – individually and tribally – that draws on the accumulated wisdom of the ages can provide a “thick”enough tradition in our increasingly dangerous yet beautiful universe to work towards a just reconciliation amongst the wounded and wrong-doers, with no scapegoats nor sacrificing the innocent (per Girard).

Secularism used to promise peace as an alternative to violent religious disagreements – but now we know that it is human violence that is natural, and secularism provides too thin and individualistic rationale, too weak of a social bond, to respond in a healing and truthful way amidst the perpetual abuse and exponential violence..

If the USA continues to embrace secularism as a form of peacekeeping amidst religious plurality, it runs a risk of fomenting “thin spirits” of religious misunderstandings – thus unable to use religious resources itself to lead the majority of religious communities through their darkest hours of chaos – which requires mature and wise religious adherents.

If the YMCA can find a way to nourish our specific Christian heritage, then we can speak with a humble authority on the pressing issues of poverty and inequity in our highly religious nation, and have a place to firmly plant our feet in order to boldly serve and care with the least of these, to do hospitality and welcome the stranger, while also taking needed critique, support protesting, fueling reform, and striving in humility for mercy and justice to all – as embodied in Christ and having been put into practice through twenty centuries throughout the world.

What is the future of the Y?

It is tied in with the chaos of our culture, and so whatever it is, it is not to usher in any kind of utopia.

Because of the undeniable violence endemic to humanity, people will be killing people until the Earth meets its fate in accordance with the destiny of our Sun or our own nuclear holocaust.

There is no way to establish permanent peace on Earth; there are only beliefs and practices which either exacerbate violence or wisely foster just mercy in light of its lingering infection.

Since religion emerged as a vital and enduring way to sustain communities in light of the real and eternal violence, the YMCA can embrace reality of religion and violence, or avoid beliefs about peacemaking that comes from pursuing a utopia.

What if the Y became sources of brilliant wisdom on religion AND multi-cultural realities in its communities?

What if the Y honestly and responsibly embraced its complex Christianity, and then through it learned how to care-fully respect and love the poor, our neighbors, and strangers of different religions and cultures?

What are ways to pledge our loyalty to Jesus as the YMCA in a VUCA world so that we sustain creative adaptations rooted in a “thick” love of humanity?

To conclude:

Is the Y still religious? Yes.

The USA is one of the most religious nations on Earth, and the majority of the population identify in some way with Christianity, and the YMCA is at the heart of America’s religious and Christian identity.

What makes the Y still religious?

Our history is undeniable, our culture was birthed in religion, our attitudes and spirit are all forged in a particular kind of “social gospel” Christianity, as well as the enduring yearning for unity, for equity, and Jesus-inspired love for all.

How can I tell if the Y is still religious?

Are there still religious people participating in the YMCA?

Are there still religious people living out of the history and culture and spirit of the Y?

Are there religious and secular Y members committed to unity, equity, care for the poor and welcome for all?

Are there still religious people open to sharing about their faith traditions and inviting others to learn more about it?

Are there people in leadership and on the front lines with the YMCA motivated by their religion to help the Y succeed in its mission and legacy?

Yes.

Can the Y still be religious if there are non-religious people in leadership and on the front lines?

Yes; the freedom to believe, or not, is crucial.

What if I don’t see any religious symbols?

It all depends on what you know about the Y and what you are looking for: the Y logo is highly religious, if you know our history; our mission and values and cause are highly religious if you know our legacy.

If the Y is still religious, does that mean it is dying out and becoming irrelevant as more people leave organized religion?

Religion is an existential reality for humanity, it will always be centrally crucial to our flourishing.

Thus, to the degree that the Y accepts, adapts, and fulfills its religious and Christian origins and calling, it will be one of the few institutions left in our society with the moral authority to critique (including itself) abuse of power and with the spiritual vitality to overcome religious and cultural divisions while building bridges in an increasingly dangerous world.

When is religion at its best, when is the Y most Christian?

When we are taking care of the widows and orphans in our communities, when we are with the most vulnerable in our neighborhoods, loving, caring, serving alongside them as the hands and heart of Jesus.

To the degree that the Y is striving to be with and for the least of these, in faithfulness to Christ, we are still religious, we are still embodying the original spirit of the Young Men’s Christian Association.

My Source/Reading List:

• Rene Girard, I Saw Satan Fall Like Lightening
• Charles Taylor, A Secular Age
• Richard Beck, Hunting Magic Eels
• Miroslav Volf, Flourishing, A Public Faith
• Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love
• Luke Burgis, Wanting
• Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel In A Pluralist Society
• Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and The Last Man
• Phillip Jenkins, The Lost History of Christianity, The Next Christendom
• Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer
• Jaroslav Pelikan, Jesus Through The Centuries
• James Davison Hunter, To Change The World
• David Fitch, Faithful Presence
• Paul Tillich, The Courage To Be, The Protestant Era
• Reinhold Niebuhr, Christianity and Power Politics
• Michael Gorman, Becoming The Gospel
• Jacques Ellul, The Presence of The Kingdom
• Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy
• Cornell West, The Cornell West Reader
• Soong-Chan Rah, The Next Evangelicalism
• Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited
• William Cavanaugh, Field Hospital
• Wolfhart Pannenberg, The Apostles Creed, The Church
• H. Richard Niebuhr, The Kingdom of God In America
• C. Howard Hopkins, The History of the YMCA in North America, John R. Mott: the Biography
• Clifford Putney, Muscular Christianity
• Clyde Binfield, George Williams and the YMCA
• Thomas Winter, Making Men, Making Class
• Nina Mjagkij, Men and Women Adrift
• and more…

[there is much that can be critiqued and questioned in my article, and I would welcome your comments; and: above is a sample of sources that shape my perception of ways the Y is still religious and Christian – I’d appreciate suggestions to add to the list.]

For more on this theme, read:

The “C” In The YMCA Today

YMCA: as Obstacle, Offense and Opportunity

Christianity, Christians and Christ in the YMCA: The Flourishing and Withering of Human Solidarity