One Faith No Longer

Abstract

The purpose of this book is to investigate how conservative and progressive Christians use their political attitudes and theological beliefs to define their social out-groups and shape their social identities. The core question is how political and theological values play a role in the construction of social identities of conservative and progressive Christians and how those identities have resulted in a religious schism. A mixed-methods approach is utilized to explore this question. Results from a national survey indicate that progressive Christians reject conservative Christians more than they reject non-Christian groups after the application of social and demographic controls. Content analysis of blogs and articles and also interviews with progressive and conservative Christians, with attention to their attitudes toward Islam, show that progressive Christians prioritize a humanistic ethic of social justice while conservative Christians prioritize a historical theology emphasizing biblical inerrancy and doctrines. The social identity of progressive Christians centers on values of tolerance and inclusion for those perceived as marginalized in Western culture and their political activism coincides with their emphasis on socioeconomic factors as the most influential motivators for behavior. In contrast, the social identity of conservative Christians is centered on the idea of living a “biblical” lifestyle perceived to be in obedience to God. The conclusion is that the social identities and manner in which conservative and progressive Christians deal with questions of meaning are so dissimilar that it is time to consider whether they have become distinctive religious groups rather than subgroups under a single religious umbrella.