Artwork Courtesy of Martin Thielen
Doubter's Parish | May 5, 2026
NOTE: This is the third (and final) article in a series on progressive Christianity. The first was It’s Hard to Find a Progressive Church (and Getting Harder). The second was A Life-Giving Alternative to Religious Right Religion.
I recently asked Doubter’s Parish readers to respond to four questions about progressive Christianity. Large numbers of you participated. Unfortunately, given space constraints, I can only share a small percentage of the responses. However, I’ve attempted to choose comments that represent a cross section of responders. Since I already shared my thoughts about Progressive Christianity in the previous two posts, this article is dedicated exclusively to reader responses without editorial commentary. The four questions and your comments follow.
Do you identify as a progressive Christian?
- Yes and no. Although I affirm the major tenets of progressive Christianity, my evangelical baggage makes me afraid of the label. I live in a red city, and a part of me doesn’t want to be different from my peers.
- Yes, because I believe Jesus would identify that way and because conservative Christians seem to be the opposite of what I associate Jesus with.
- Yes, I identify as a progressive Christian. However, I think of myself more as a Jesus follower, perhaps more as a protest against the negative feelings I have about present-day United States “Christianity” than as a claim to be a perfect Jesus follower.
- I consider myself progressive but no longer call myself a Christian. I can no longer identify with all the hate and harm so many who call themselves Christians are doing, particularly in politics, especially when they’re trying to force their beliefs on everyone else. If it isn’t about love, peace, kindness, compassion, and unity, then I don’t want anything to do with it. I keep an open mind in all things, honor the best in all religions, and consider myself spiritual and not religious.
- I’m not sure I identify as any type of Christian anymore. I’m still deconstructing, but as of right now, I’d probably be classified more as an agnostic or pantheist.
- Yes, because the Jesus I see in the New Testament is certainly progressive, and none of the other Christian labels work for me.
- I identify as a progressive Christian if that means following Jesus, interpreting the Bible as an overall message of love instead of a list of to-dos and not-to-dos; welcoming all; and believing that Christ is the right path for me—though not the only path to God.
- I do identify as a progressive Christian because I am a great believer in human diversity, social justice, and that we should be good stewards of each other and this earth.
- I thought I would have to leave the Christian faith, but as I continued to explore science, psychology, and new Christian thinkers, I found I just needed to revise my theology to a more progressive stance.
Are you currently active in a progressive congregation?
- Unfortunately not because there are very few in my country. I nourish myself spiritually through progressive writers and online interactions.
- More or less: my congregation has moved leftward, but I am not sure you would say we are progressive. We are, however, by far the most liberal church in our area.
- I am not currently in a progressive congregation. I know of no progressive congregation reasonably close to where I live. My wife and I attend a nonprogressive church because we enjoy our relationship with other parishioners.
- I choose to stay at a less than progressive congregation because I do not want to start over developing a circle of friends at this stage of life.
- I am currently attending a highly progressive congregation. We’re an eclectic group of people who gather to love and accept each other just as we are, and we come from all religions, nonreligions, and backgrounds.
- I wish I were part of a progressive church, but living in a rural area with the nearest town being crimson red, in an even more crimson red county, there are none I am aware of.
- After my church became more conservative, I started an adult Sunday school class that has provided an outlet for me and some of the more progressive members of the church to have more open discussions about our faith and doubts. I find this is a way to keep me involved with a church that has meant a lot to me.
- I’m “active” in a progressive church in another state as a “distance member” with online worship, zoom Sunday school, and email interactions.
- My church doesn’t require assent to dogma or literalism. It is a Just Peace church, open and affirming, with LGBTQ+ members in leadership roles, welcoming all, and active in social justice and environmental justice. This church allowed me to return to Christianity and to happily be in church.
- I stopped calling myself a Christian and going to church, not because I don’t believe the teachings of Jesus but because I could not in good conscience continue to participate in rituals I didn’t believe in. I devote time and money in community service projects serving the real needs of people that I believe Jesus would be involved in himself if he were here today. But I no longer darken a church door except for funerals.
- When I retired, I found it difficult to find a progressive place where I felt comfortable. But perhaps the problem is that I wanted to be comfortable. I finally ended up at a progressive church after letting go of my expectations. Worship runs too long, the children’s sermons are lousy, and coffee hour could be a bit friendlier. But still, it’s a good place to be that challenges me rather than comforts me.
Do you believe progressive Christianity has a future in America?
- Yes, because I believe that right-wing Christianity is self-destructing and that people are searching for a healthy version of Christianity.
- It has to have a future. We have to fight against fascism, fight against white Christian nationalism, and fight against the backlash against the current cultural and political zeitgeist. Progressive Christians have made great strides in the past two centuries. We can’t give up now.
- I do believe (and fervently hope) that progressive Christianity has a future in America, although I am not sure what form it will take. I think people are hungry for the hope and inclusivity it promotes.
- I’m afraid that for many who are dissatisfied with the too-close association between evangelicals and politics, many are going to drop straight on through to the “done” category, without ever having the chance to explore progressive theology and progressive churches.
- I do think there is a future for progressive Christianity, especially if people who subscribe to these tenets continue to model Christ’s way to others. And I feel like a nonliteral and nonsupernatural Christianity is the only form that can reconcile modern understandings of the universe with Christianity for thinking people.
- Yes, but it will always be a fringe movement, since fundamental theology is so ingrained in our country’s history.
- I strongly believe that progressive Christianity has a place in America. There are a great number of us out here. We need a “safe” place to pursue our faith and actively fulfill our calling. I think there is a great hunger for those of our ilk to connect with others who believe and feel the way we do about matters of faith.
- I’m not sure. I’ve not seen progressivism do all that well in America. Progressives are out there but not in huge numbers. I have come to be very skeptical about the future of the church.
- Absolutely. I sense that younger pastors are better able to process the realities of what it means to no longer be the dominant religious force in America and thus will (and do) lead progressive churches that will endure.
- I would like to think progressive Christianity has a future in America, but it will take years of heartache and grief before it can rise from the ashes if it ever does.
- I believe progressive Christianity has a future in America, but it will come with a great cost. The accretions of civil religion must be scraped off like barnacles from my old boat.
- I do believe progressive Christianity has a future in America but realize it may be a long, gradual process of adapting to a new form of church and worship.
What suggestions do you have for progressive and/or centrist congregations in today’s national religious environment of mostly conservative congregations?
- Progressive and centrist churches have to be more creative in the ways they connect with people.
- Stop being afraid of the Bible and take it back. Clergy seem to think that laity cannot handle the truth about the Bible so they don’t bother. Clergy believe one thing but continue to teach in ways that reinforce more literal interpretations. People need to be taught to wrestle with the texts.
- If and when I do visit a progressive church or become active in one, I don’t want the weekly message to be about how terrible the Baptists down the road are. Just stick to the life and message of Jesus—that’s really all we need!
- I would like the progressive church to recognize there are many who would likely join their churches but they need to be invited. Individuals need to feel like they belong to something bigger than themselves. The church should try to promote that. Speak boldly about this not being doctrine but instead, what it means to put on your “be like Jesus shoes.”
- Get out in the community and get loud. Conservatives are all over social media and the news loudly spreading hate so we have to get out there in real life and spread love even louder.
- Get the word out. I don’t think a lot of people even know there are progressive religions and congregations out there. Because progressives aren’t trying to force their beliefs on everyone else, they’re rarely, if ever, mentioned in the media. Let people know that everyone is welcome and then live up to it.
- Make yourself easy to find. There are those of us looking.
- Use social media to keep the gospel of love out front. Invite the nones to church with a reason why that particular community speaks to you. Show up at protests and rallies with something that identifies you as a Christian. Study and live what the Gospels teach. Go to the people and places the conservatives will not.
- Lift up Jesus. There is a great underserved market, not for institutional religion but for the values Jesus taught and modeled.
- I believe many people like myself are craving group spiritual experiences. Churches that try to meet people where they are and offer meaningful experiences, through the arts, meditation, and rituals that speak to the soul of beauty and connection will continue to survive. But those that cling to old and outdated traditions and dogma will continue to shrink and eventually close their doors.
Thanks to all of you who participated in this informal survey about progressive Christianity. I hope you found these responses as interesting as I did. Although I was only able to use a small fraction of your quotes in this article, all of your comments were appreciated.
Martin Thielen
The Rev. Martin Thielen is a retired United Methodist pastor and founder of Doubter's parish.