 In 1918, he became a member of a Congregational Church and was baptized.In 1924, he worked for YMCA, managing its schools and then went to the United States to study at Union Theological Seminary (affiliated with the Columbia University) at New York City, from which he earned a master's degree in philosophy.Wu became a proponent of the social gospel and was critical of what he called "the opiate-laden gospel of individual salvation."