How Different Are Progressive and Conservative Christians? Part I

At one time or another, I've been a conservative Christian and a progressive Christian and

everything in between.  Are we really so different?  Well, yes.

This post is the first in a three-part series addressing the question, Do progressive/liberal and conservative Christians really think differently?  And if so, is that a problem?

Not everyone has had first hand
experience being a Conservative Christian and a Progressive Christian and
everything in between. However, at one time or another, I've been in each one
of these camps.

I grew up mainstream Lutheran, became a Born Again Christian,
and a Fundamentalist and Evangelical for about two years, and was re-baptized
as an adult in a lake in Arizona by a Southern Baptist preacher.  I was very much influenced by Liberal
Christianity in seminary, then became a Quaker, spent an afternoon being a
Radical Christian, and am comfortable with a definition of myself as a
Christian Progressive or a Christian Liberal, although don't fit neatly into
every category, which seems to be true for most people. (I'm aware that there
are some differences between the Progressive and Liberal, but for the purposes
of these articles, they don't seem as relevant!)

Are we really so different? I've
reached the conclusion that Conservative Christians and Progressive/Liberal
Christians truly think differently, although not always, and not on all
issues.  I believe we focus and emphasize different ideas, and sometimes
have different thinking processes. I don't know if this has to do with our
personalities, or how we respond to ambiguity, or whether we are rebelling
against or accepting, the religion of our youth, or how wounded we were in
childhood, or how curious we are, or what we've learned through our own study
of theology and the Scriptures. Yet, although I no longer consider myself a
conservative, there are many areas where we, as Christians who might consider
ourselves Progressives or Liberals can learn from the Conservatives, if we're
willing, and the Conservatives, if they're willing, could learn from us. Of
course, willingness is all, and many from both sides are not willing.  

It was the Fundamentalists who 
taught me about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, about the experience
of prayer, about reading my Bible daily and having daily devotion and prayer
time, about committing myself to Christ (as an Evangelical would say) and being
committed to a spiritual life and putting God first (as other Christians might
say about their own Born Again experiences.)  Christians vary in terms of
their own spiritual disciplines. On the surface, one might expect that
Progressive/Liberals have fewer daily devotions, but I'm not convinced about
this. I expect that many Progressive/Liberals are reading spiritual literature,
although perhaps not always with the same focus on the Bible as many
Conservatives. And I'm sure that many Conservatives don't have daily devotions
and are doing no more than anyone else in terms of a daily spiritual practice.  

Conservatives seem to emphasize
belief more than action, whereas Progressive/Liberals don't care as much about
what someone else believes, as long as they don't try to push their belief
systems on others. They care more about the action that results from one's
beliefs, since they know belief doesn't always translate into making them more
caring, more compassionate, more loving, kinder, with more of the fruits of the
Spirit.  

Both care about transgressions, but
Conservatives often put the focus on sexual transgressions,
Progressive/Liberals on social transgressions — corruption, not caring for the
poor, pollution of the environment.  

I have found more hypocrisy and
self-righteousness among Conservatives than among Progressive/Liberals. Since
belief is so strong, they sometimes are not reflective and introspective,
pointing their fingers at others rather than looking at their own behavior.
They speak more about the Letter of the Law than about the Spirit of the Law.
There is much more boxing in of ideas, as if everything has to have a clear
boundary and a Scripture passage to back it up, even though their Scriptural
choices are often very selective, as are everyone's. As a result, their clear
and absolute boundaries can make them judgmental of others which can cause deep
psychological and spiritual wounds. I have spoken to so many wounded
ex-Catholics, ex-Baptists, ex-Fundamentalists, but don't recall speaking to a
wounded Methodist or Lutheran or Presbyterian who feel freer to change churches
if one doesn't suit. So many wounded Christians simply leave the Church, since
they don't feel they have choices. It's one way or no way. I find far less of
this from Mainstream and more Liberal Churches, where we are encouraged to
question, to struggle with figuring out our relationship with God, and where
it's just fine to change denominations, to experiment, to search.   

I'd be interested in readers'
perceptions of these differences. In "Part Two," I'll briefly explore different
concepts of God and Christ and Humanity! 

Dr. Linda Seger is the author of Jesus Rode a Donkey: Why the Republicans Don't Have a Corner on Christ.