Progressive Christianity represents a post-modern theological approach, and is not necessarily synonymous with

progressive politics Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techn ...

. It developed out of the liberal Christianity of the modern era, which was rooted in

the Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

'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 pop ...

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, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

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" (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 religious ...

. 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, liberal Christianity,

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 of ...

pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. ...

, postmodernism, progressive reconstructionism, and

liberation theology Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". I ...

. The concerns of feminism are also a major influence on the movement, as expressed in feminist 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 Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techn ...

and the Social Gospel. 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. Soci ...

'. 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. It contributed to the

ecumenical movement Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

, 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 The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the Un ...

in the US and Australian Student Christian Movement.

Contemporary movement

The ascendancy of evangelicalism 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 James E. Wallis Jr. (born June 4, 1948) is an American theologian, writer, teacher and political activist. He is best known as the founder and editor of ''Sojourners'' magazine and as the founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian commu ...

of ''

Sojourners ''Sojourners'' is a Progressive Christianity, 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 197 ...

'', 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 A webring (or web ring) is a collection of websites Hyperlink, linked together in a circular structure, and usually organized around a specific theme, often educational or social. They were popular in the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly among a ...

, ''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 pla ...

(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 The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the ca ...

in Washington, DC. Among the speakers were E. J. Dionne, Richard Parker,

, Senator Danforth, and David Hollinger. 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 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 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 Edward Osborne Wilson (June 10, 1929 – December 26, 2021) was an American biologist, naturalist, entomologist and writer. According to David Attenborough, Wilson was the world's leading expert in his specialty of myrmecology, the study of a ...

, Brian Swimme,

Eric Chaisson Eric J. Chaisson (pronounced ''chase-on'', born on October 26, 1946 in Lowell, Massachusetts) is an American astrophysicist known for his research, teaching, and writing on the interdisciplinary science of cosmic evolution. He is a member of the ...

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 Dep ...

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 Michael Dowd (born November 19, 1958) is an American progressive Christian minister, author, and eco-theologian known as an advocate of Big History, religious naturalism, sustainability, climate activism, and the epic of evolution. His evange ...

, etc.). Evolutionary evangelist and progressive minister

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 Religious naturalism combines a naturalist worldview with ideals, perceptions, traditions, and values that have been traditionally associated with many religions or religious institutions. "Religious naturalism is a perspective that finds religi ...

). 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 and

John Shelby Spong John Shelby "Jack" Spong (June 16, 1931 – September 12, 2021) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church. From 1979 to 2000, he was the Bishop of Newark, New Jersey. A liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator, and author, he call ...

, "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