What Is Progressive Christianity?

Somebody Help Me Out

Does anyone know? Seriously.

I received word a few weeks ago that Theology on the Way was selected by FeedSpot panelists as one of the Top 80 Progressive Christianity Podcasts on the web. Number 39, to be precise.

What does that mean?, you ask. I have no idea. Really.

I’m extremely skeptical about the nature of this “panel.” It feels more like an AI aggregator. But what do I know?

The more troubling question is what progressive even means. I don’t have a problem with the label, per se. I just have no way of knowing whether to wear it. If you haven’t clicked the link, spoiler alert: the FeedSpot website doesn’t say.

Since I’m guessing there is at least an AI element in the selection process, I decided to ask Google Gemini, “What is progressive Christianity?” Here’s what I learned:

Progressive Christianity is a modern movement within Christianity that emphasizes:

• Social Justice: A strong focus on addressing issues like poverty, inequality, racism, and environmental concerns.

• Inclusion and Acceptance: Welcoming and affirming people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and backgrounds.

• Critical Engagement with Scripture: Viewing the Bible as a historical and cultural document, open to multiple interpretations.

• Emphasis on Experience: Valuing personal experiences of faith and spirituality alongside traditional doctrines.

• Openness to Change: Willingness to re-examine traditional beliefs and practices in light of modern understanding and social realities.

Key Characteristics:

• Focus on Love and Compassion: Prioritizing love for all people, regardless of their differences, as the core of Christian faith.

• Emphasis on Action: Believing that faith without action is meaningless and actively working towards social and environmental change.

• Community-Oriented: Fostering inclusive and supportive communities where all members feel valued and respected.

It’s important to note:

Progressive Christianity is a diverse movement with a wide range of beliefs and practices.

There is no single definition or set of doctrines that all progressive Christians share.

Some critics of progressive Christianity argue that it:

• Compromises core Christian doctrines.

• Overemphasizes social issues at the expense of traditional theological concerns.

• Is overly influenced by secular culture.

However, proponents of progressive Christianity maintain that it is a faithful expression of Christian values in the 21st century.

This information is for general knowledge and discussion purposes only. For a deeper understanding, I recommend exploring resources from organizations like the Center for Progressive Christianity.

Well. If this is a mirror, it’s giving 1 Corinthians 13:12. Yes and no. Sort of. Not exactly.

Before I examined Gemini’s recommended resource, I had one more question for it: “What is the opposite of progressive Christianity?” Here’s the answer:

The opposite of progressive Christianity is generally considered to be conservative Christianity.

Here's a breakdown of key differences:

Social Issues:

• Progressive: Emphasizes social justice, inclusion, and acceptance of all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or background.

• Conservative: Often holds more traditional views on social issues, such as homosexuality, abortion, and gender roles.

Biblical Interpretation:

• Progressive: Views the Bible as a historical and cultural document, open to multiple interpretations.

• Conservative: Generally adheres to a more literal interpretation of the Bible, believing it to be the inerrant word of God.

Social Engagement:

• Progressive: Strongly emphasizes social action and engagement with the world to address issues of poverty, inequality, and injustice.

• Conservative: May prioritize personal faith and individual salvation over social activism.

View of Church:

• Progressive: Often seeks to create more inclusive and welcoming church communities.

• Conservative: May prioritize traditional church structures and doctrines.

Important Note: These are broad generalizations, and there is significant diversity within both progressive and conservative Christian movements.

It's crucial to remember that these are just two points on a spectrum of Christian beliefs and practices.

Disclaimer: This information is for general knowledge and discussion purposes only.

Now we’re getting into familiar territory: obtuse dichotomies. The bottom line is that the disclaimers at the end of the response are the most valid thing about it. Here’s what “significant diversity” and “spectrum” mean: these descriptions are not mutually exclusive. Inclusion and traditional views, historical-cultural awareness and “literal” interpretation, social action and personal faith, welcoming communities and traditional doctrines—these can all live together. And let me head off a foreseeable response at the pass: the appeal to “emphasis” is meaningless. Emphases vary by context and situation.

So where does that claim locate me? Obviously, per Gemini, the point isn't that being “progressive” means not holding “conservative” positions. Perhaps, when it comes to it, this is how battle lines get drawn. If you’re a progressive, maybe holding traditional doctrines is ultimately unwelcoming. If you’re a conservative, maybe “literal” interpretation can’t make space for contextual understanding. And so on. Maybe Gemini’s caveats are just digital politeness, but the fact is, progressive means not conservative, and vice versa.

If that’s the case, then I’m whatever kind of Christian thinks that’s a stupid way to think.

But rather than jumping to a conclusion, let’s check our secondary source, progressivechristianity.org. From the About Us page:

We promote an understanding of Christian practice and teaching that leads to a greater concern for the way people treat each other than for the way people express their beliefs, the acceptance of all people, and a respect for other religious traditions.

We affirm the variety and depth of human experience and the richness of each persons’ search for meaning, and we encourage the use of sound scholarship, critical inquiry, and all intellectual powers to understand the presence of God in human life.

We are opposed to any exclusive dogma that limits the search for truth and free inquiry, and we encourage work that eases the pain, suffering and degradation inherent in many of the structures of society, as well as work that keeps central to the Christian life fair, open, peaceful, and loving treatment of all human beings.

I hate to disappoint FeedSpot, but I find this statement to vacillate between wrongheaded and nonsensical. So Theology on the Way is probably not a great candidate for the list. Don’t get me wrong: the press is much appreciated. And maybe they mean something else by progressive. Who knows?! But if this is what “progressives” are looking for, they’re bound to be disappointed by my podcast. Or, hopefully, challenged.

I'll be specific:

• “An understanding of Christian practice and teaching that leads to a greater concern for the way people treat each other than for the way people express their beliefs” is a nonsense statement. It is a statement of belief. It seems self-evident that expressing this belief in this way is of fundamental importance.

• The importance of the way people (let’s say, Christian people) express their beliefs is in no way relative to, much less in opposition to, acceptance of and respect for others.

• “Acceptance” is an empty signifier in this statement. If I reject this statement, then a “progressive” will not and cannot accept me as a progressive. If you reject the divinity of Christ, then I will not and cannot accept you as a Christian. And I can and will accept you as a human, a neighbor, a friend, and so on. I can and will respect you regardless of your beliefs. The statement says nothing.

• I affirm the variety and depth of human experience, blah, blah, blah. And so do all kinds of Christians across the spectrum. This is a intellectual-elitist dog whistle. I have my own bones to pick with anti-intellectuals, most of whom are on the fundamentalist end of conservatism. Granted. But how this statement is particularly “progressive” escapes me.

• “Exclusive dogma that limits the search for truth and free inquiry” is also empty rhetoric. Dogma (which means formally defined doctrine, the teaching that defines orthodox Christianity) is exclusive by definition. If, for example, the church's dogma states Jesus is “one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably” (Chalcedonian Creed), then other understandings are excluded from orthodoxy. There is no such thing as non-exclusive dogma.

• The implied inverse, “inclusivity,” seems to function as a “progressive” dogma, which necessarily excludes those who are not “inclusive”! Likewise, if I affirm that Jesus’s teachings about money and our obligation to serve the poor and vulnerable are to be interpreted literally, I thereby exclude the legitimacy of interpretations that make those teachings hyperbolic or figurative—presumably satisfying “progressives” regarding social justice, action, and so on precisely by excluding other understandings.

• Dogma does not, as such, limit the search for truth or free inquiry. Theology is faith, specified by dogma, seeking understanding. Dogma, in other words, gives rise to the search for truth through free inquiry. If the search for truth through free inquiry does not begin with faith in the Triune God, then it may be progressive, but it is not Christian. If dogma about the Triune God does not give rise to the search for truth through free inquiry, then it may be a statement of faith, but it is not faithful.

Taking these representations of “progressive Christianity” seriously, I have to conclude that the label “progressive” fits me poorly. The dichotomy between progressive and conservative seems to be concerned with facile contrasts that reflect culture wars I find tedious. Much as progressivism would like to address conservatism’s ills, it is not more capable of dealing with meaningful difference and, apparently, it risks sacrificing an identifiably Christian identity on the altar of abstract, unmoored ideals such as inclusivity, openness, and activism that must themselves be exclusive.

I am delighted for people looking for a hospitable, socially conscious, critically engaged, epistemically chastened Christian perspectives to know Theology on the Way is worth a listen. But make no mistake: I curate such conversations exclusively because Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God.