This is part of a series (despite a rather extended hiatus!) exploring some of the labels that we use in the Church of England and more generally – you can explore the earlier entries in the series by clicking here.
Of all the labels we use in church life (or that others use about us), “liberal” and “conservative” are among the most emotionally charged, perhaps because they carry so much meaning outside the Church as well as within it.
“Liberals”, the term we’re looking at this week, are often dismissed by social and political conservatives as (in the words of former government minister Suella Braverman) “Guardian‑reading, tofu‑eating wokerati”. And in the sphere of Christian liberalism, it doesn’t take long to find equally colourful put‑downs – from Pat Robertson’s “liberal, left‑wing, bleeding‑heart crowd” to Mark Driscoll’s “hipster, latte‑sipping, theological snowflakes”.
In the UK, there is also a familiar type of newspaper editorial convinced that the Church of England is run by socialist, atheist clergy and bishops, and that our pews would be full again if only we returned to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, the King James Bible, and a good dose of hellfire‑and‑brimstone preaching.
Amusing as these caricatures can be, they are also damaging – not only because they are designed to be insulting, but because they are inaccurate. The “liberal wing” of the Church of England is often treated as a third major strand alongside Evangelicals and Anglo‑Catholics. But that doesn’t really hold, because you can find plenty of “liberals” (in one sense or another) within both of those traditions.
The framework persists partly because conservative Evangelicals and conservative Anglo‑Catholics, with their very different views on the Church, the Bible, and doctrine, tend to stand apart from one another, while liberals of various hues have historically clustered more closely together. Yet as “culture war” issues have seeped into church life, it has been striking to see conservative Evangelicals and conservative Anglo‑Catholics forming alliances on matters such as opposition to women’s ministry or to same‑sex marriage.
But none of this tells us what liberalism in the Church actually is. More broadly, liberalism is associated with the 18th‑century Enlightenment, with its emphasis on “reason” over “superstition” and on the freedom of individuals to explore ideas without undue constraint from the state, society, or – for our purposes – the Church.
I would suggest that liberalism has shaped Christianity in three main ways, and when people use the label “liberal”, they may be referring to one or more of these.
First, liberalism affects how we approach Scripture. A liberal reading of the Bible takes seriously our developing understanding of related fields: manuscript and textual analysis; the nuances of ancient languages; historical and archaeological research that may or may not correlate with biblical accounts; insights from psychology and the social sciences into matters such as sexuality and mental health; and basic scientific knowledge about evolution, the age of the earth, and even how the weather works.
Liberals are, on the whole, comfortable with these developments, even when they require us to acknowledge contradictions within Scripture or to rethink long‑held assumptions – such as the idea that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are a historical record, or that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, or that St Paul authored the pastoral letters (Timothy and Titus). There is, however, a nuance between more individual‑focused liberal Protestants and more collective‑focused liberal Catholics, the latter tending to weigh the historical and evolving teaching of the wider Church. And it is worth noting that, while the Church’s historic teaching on Scripture has not always been “liberal” in the modern sense, the idea that the Bible is literally, unequivocally, and inerrantly true has never been a universal Christian doctrine.
Second, the label “liberal” is used in relation to theology. Here we are talking about questioning or re‑examining doctrines traditionally taught by the Church – sometimes in modest ways, sometimes quite radically. This can include questioning beliefs such as the virgin birth, the bodily resurrection of Christ, the doctrine of the Trinity, or even – at the furthest extreme – the existence of God as an objective reality. Such questions may arise from philosophy, natural science, or historical criticism.
Third, “liberal” is used when Christian faith is associated with social or political liberal causes – the point at which Christian and secular liberalism most obviously overlap. But this is not limited to theological liberals. Many Christians with “traditional” views of Scripture or doctrine are active in causes often associated with the liberal left: tackling climate change; anti‑racism; LGBTQIA+ equality; opposition to war; animal welfare; and campaigns against poverty and economic injustice. Many see these commitments as a natural outworking of their faith.
It is important to tease these different strands apart because someone may be “liberal” in one area but not in another, and the label – whether meant kindly or critically – can obscure more than it reveals. For example, I would say that I am quite liberal in my approach to the Bible; fairly “traditional” in relation to the major Christian doctrines; and “it’s complicated!” when it comes to society and politics. You may have a different mixture (as will other members of our ministry team), but whatever yours is, I hope you feel very welcome here at St Giles’ and St Margaret’s.
(If you’re interested and want to read further, the principal liberal Anglican body in the UK is called Modern Church, dating back to 1898, and they have a number of resources on their website).
Next week: evangelicalism!
What comes to mind for you when you think of “liberal Christians”? Is it a tradition you feel an affinity to, or not? Feel free to leave a comment below.