Progressive Christianity represents a post-modern theological approach, and is not necessarily synonymous with progressive politics. It developed out of the

liberal Christianity Liberal Christianity, also known as Liberal Theology and historically as Christian Modernism (see Catholic modernism and Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy), is a movement that interprets Christian teaching by taking into consideration ...

of the

modern era The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is appli ...

, which was rooted in the Enlightenment's thinking. Progressive Christianity is a " post-liberal movement" within

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

that "seeks to reform the faith via the insights of post-modernism and a reclaiming of the truth beyond the verifiable historicity and factuality of the passages in the Bible by affirming the truths within the stories that may not have actually happened." Progressive Christianity, as described by its adherents, is characterized by a willingness to question tradition, acceptance of human diversity, a strong emphasis on

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals ...

and care for the poor and the oppressed, and environmental stewardship of the earth. Progressive Christians have a deep belief in the centrality of the instruction to "

love one another The New Commandment is a term used in Christianity to describe Jesus's commandment to "love one another" which, according to the Bible, was given as part of the final instructions to his disciples after the Last Supper had ended, and after Jud ...

" (John 15:17) within the teachings of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

. This leads to a focus on promoting values such as compassion, justice, mercy, and tolerance, often through political activism. Though prominent, the movement is by no means the only significant movement of progressive thought among Christians. Progressive Christianity draws influence from multiple theological streams, including

evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

neo-orthodoxy In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as theology of crisis and dialectical theology, was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines o ...

, pragmatism,

postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of modern ...

, progressive reconstructionism, and liberation theology. The concerns of feminism are also a major influence on the movement, as expressed in

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and womanist theologies. Although ''progressive Christianity'' and ''liberal Christianity'' are often used synonymously, the two movements are distinct, despite much overlap.

Origins

A priority of justice and care for the down-trodden are a recurrent theme in the Hebrew prophetic tradition inherited by

. This has been reflected in many later Christian traditions of service and ministry, and more recently in the United States of America through Christian involvement in political trends such as the Progressive Movement and the

Social Gospel The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean envir ...

. Throughout the 20th century, a strand of progressive or liberal Christian thought outlined the values of a 'good

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

'. It stresses fairness, justice, responsibility, and compassion, and condemns the forms of governance that wage unjust war, rely on corruption for continued power, deprive the poor of facilities, or exclude particular racial or sexual groups from fair participation in national liberties. It was influential in the US mainline churches, and reflected global trends in

student activism Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...

. It contributed to the ecumenical movement, as represented internationally by the

World Student Christian Federation The World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) is a federation of autonomous national Student Christian Movements (SCM) forming the youth and student arm of the global ecumenical movement. The Federation includes Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic, ...

and the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...

internationally, and at the national level through groups such as the National Council of Churches in the US and Australian Student Christian Movement.

Contemporary movement

The ascendancy of

in the US, particularly in its more socially conservative forms, challenged many people in mainline churches. Recently, a focus for those who wish to challenge this ascendancy has been provided by Jim Wallis of ''

Sojourners ''Sojourners'' is a progressive monthly magazine and daily online publication of the American Christian social justice organization Sojourners, which arose out of the Sojourners Community. It was first published in 1971 under the original titl ...

'', who described himself as a progressive evangelical Christian, although ''Sojourners'' has rejected advertisements urging mainline churches to welcome gay members. This has enabled many Christians who are uncomfortable with conservative evangelicalism to identify themselves explicitly as "Progressive Christians". At the onset of this new movement to organize Progressive Christians, the single largest force holding together was a webring, ''The Progressive Christian Bloggers Network'', and supporters frequently find and contact each other through dozens of online chat-rooms. Notable initiatives within the movement for progressive Christianity include the

Center for Progressive Christianity The Center for Progressive Christianity (TCPC) was founded in 1996 by, retired Episcopal priest, James Rowe Adams in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is established in line with the larger progressive movement within American Christianity taking place ...

(TCPC) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Beatitudes Society, the campaigning organization CrossLeft, the technology working group Social Redemption and The Progressive Episcopal Church (TPEC). CrossLeft joined with Every Voice Network and Claiming the Blessing in October 2005 to stage a major conference, Path to Action, at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Among the speakers were E. J. Dionne, Richard Parker, Jim Wallis, Senator Danforth, and

David Hollinger David Albert Hollinger (born April 25, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois) is the Preston Hotchkis Professor of History, emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. His specialties are American intellectual history and American ethnoracial histor ...

. In the United Kingdom, the movement is represented by the Progressive Christianity Network Britain. Notable related UK organisations include the Center for Radical Christianity at St Marks, Sheffield, and the UK-based Sea of Faith network. Examples of statements of contemporary Progressive Christian beliefs include: * the Eight Points produced by TCPC: a statement of agreement about Christianity as a basis for tolerance and human rights; * the Phoenix Affirmations produced by Crosswalk (Phoenix, AZ) - include twelve points defining Christian love of God, Christian love of neighbor, and Christian love of self. * the article, "Grassroots Progressive Christianity: A Quiet Revolution" by Hal Taussig published in ''The Fourth R'', May–June 2006. * the working definition utilized in Roger Wolsey's book ''Kissing Fish: Christianity for People Who Don't Like Christianity'': As Wolsey mentions, Progressive Christianity "leans toward panentheism rather than supernatural theism..." The role of panentheism in Progressive Christianity shifts the emphasis from belief to contemplative practice and experiential faith. So Progressive Christianity is often characterized by contemplative or meditative forms of worship. This finds perhaps its most poignant expression in ''Finding God in the Body: A Spiritual Path for the Modern West'' by Benjamin Riggs:

Compared to traditional Christianity

According to

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

Wynn Wagner of the former

North American Old Catholic Church The North American Old Catholic Church (NAOCC) was a community of 22 independent Catholic churches based in the United States. History The North American Old Catholic Church was formed in January 2007 in Louisville, Kentucky, as a community o ...

, holding to the ideals of progressive Christianity sets the movement apart from traditional

. Inclusiveness and acceptance is the basic posture of progressive Christianity.

Seventh-day Adventism

Within the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

, the liberal wing describe themselves as "progressive Adventists". They disagree with some of the traditional teachings of the church. While most are still of evangelical persuasion, a minority are liberal Christians.

Environmental ministries

As Bruce Sanguin writes, "It's time for the Christian church to get with a cosmological program (...). We now know, for instance, that we live in an evolving or evolutionary universe. Evolution is the way that the Holy creates in space and in time, in every sphere: material, biological, social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual. This new cosmology simply cannot be contained by old models and images of God, or by old ways of being the church." Central to this recovery of awe in the cosmos is the epic of evolution, the 14-billion-year history of the universe. Scientists ( Edward O. Wilson,

Brian Swimme Brian Thomas Swimme (born 1950) is a professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, in San Francisco, where he teaches evolutionary cosmology to graduate students in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program. He received his ...

, Eric Chaisson,

Ursula Goodenough Ursula W. Goodenough (born March 16, 1943) is a Professor of Biology Emerita at Washington University in St. Louis were she engaged in research on eukaryotic algae. She authored the textbook ''Genetics'' and the best-selling boo''The Sacred Dept ...

and others) initiated this story which has been perpetuated with a religion component by some liberal theologians ( Gordon D. Kaufman, Jerome A. Stone, Michael Dowd, etc.). Evolutionary evangelist and progressive minister Michael Dowd uses the term Epic of Evolution or Great Story to help construct his viewpoint of evolution theology. His position is that science and religious faith are not mutually exclusive (a form of religious naturalism). He preaches that the epic of cosmic, biological, and human evolution, revealed by science, is a basis for an inspiring and meaningful view of our place in the universe and a new approach to religion. Evolution is viewed as a religious spiritual process that is not meaningless blind chance.

Criticism

Geoff Thompson argues that the rhetoric of Progressive Christianity, as represented by

Gretta Vosper Margaret Ann Vosper (born 1958), known as Gretta Vosper, is an ordained minister of the United Church of Canada who is a self-professed atheist. Her beliefs have caused controversy both within and outside of the United Church. In 2016, following th ...

and John Shelby Spong, "often over-reaches its arguments." In particular, he concludes that " is very difficult to see how what osperproposes needs any church or even the minimalist, idiosyncratic definition of Christianity which she offers.

References

{{reflist, 30em Christian philosophy Christian movements Christian terminology