Responding to the very same religious texts and often the very same religious traditions, progressive Christians arrive at starkly opposite conclusions from their fellow conservative Christians.
Progressive Christians tend to believe that salvation is a collective project which includes realizing the “Kingdom of God” on earth by dismantling real-world oppression, poverty, and inequality. Progressives locate sin in systems and institutions. They believe that racism, poverty, and environmental destruction are symptomatic of our current legal, economic, and social systems. The solution therefore requires systemic political, and economic reform. Progressive Christians prioritize neighborly love and kindness. They focus the teachings of Jesus that command care for the poor, the immigrant, the marginalized, and the outcast. Progressive Christians also focus on societal equity, advocating for universal healthcare, racial justice, wealth redistribution, LGBTQ+ rights, a woman’s right to choose, and aggressive climate change policies.
Conservative Christians view salvation as an individual event – involving a personal relationship with God where one repents from sin, and secures eternal life. They believe that society can only improve if the hearts of individual people change first. To conservativeChristians, sin is in the heart of the individual. Greed, crime, and family breakdown are seen as personal moral failures. Therefore, the solution is moral accountability, personal responsibility, and spiritual transformation.
Conservative Christians prioritize holiness and heavily emphasize biblical passages about personal righteousness, sexual ethics, the sanctity of life, and resisting the corrupting influences of secular culture. And they focus on defending traditional moral order including opposing abortion, protecting religious freedom for faith-based institutions, and preserving the traditional family structure.
The conflict between progressive and conservative Christians is irreconcilable, with both sides managing to locate copious biblical passages and religious texts supporting their position. And due their inherent ambiguity, there are also numerous biblical passages and religious texts which both sides claim.