Progressive Christianity has a long history in American politics. It focuses on the biblical injunctions that God's people live correctly, that they promote social justice and act to fight poverty, racism, and other forms of injustice. There are also some groups that take an inclusive approach to all life, human and non-human and place a positive value on the earth, as God's creation. Progressive Christians see themselves acting in the public sphere.

Origins

A priority of justice and care for the down-trodden are present from before Christianity. These are carried on carrying through the early church, the monastic movement, the ministry of healing, the Catholic and Protestant churches, to

Since the 1900s progressive Christianity was influential in determining what constitutes the values by which a good society is run. It stressed fairness, justice, responsibility, and compassion, and condemns the forms of governance that wage unjust war, rely on corruption for continued power, deprive the poor of facilities, or exclude particular racial or sexual groups from fair participation in national liberties.

Progressive Christianity was most influential in the US mainline churches. It has also been an important influence on student activism globally.

Progressive Christians have been active in the ecumenical movement, for example the World Student Christian Federation and the World Council of Churches internationally, and at the national level through groups such as the National Council of Churches in the USA and Australian Student Christian Movement.

Current situation

The ascendancy of Evangelicalism, particularly

Jim Wallis, a progressive evangelical Christian, of Sojourners has provided a focus for many progressive Christians to talk and act to challenge this ascendancy.

At the onset of a new movement to organize Progressive Christians, the single largest force holding together was a webring, The Progressive Christian Bloggers Network. At the same time, dozens of online chat-rooms proliferate, where Progressive Christians find each other by denomination, by locality, or by online network.

CrossLeft, the first nationwide campaign for a united movement, is trying to find them, organize them, introduce them to each other's events. CrossLeft maintains a shared calendar and an aggregated RSS feed that joins headlines from hundreds of progressive Christian bloggers, news sources, and columnists.

CrossLeft joined with Via Media and Reclaim the Blessing in October 2005 to stage a major conference, Path to Action, at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Among the speakers were E. J. Dionne, Richard Parker, Jim Wallis, Senator Danforth, and David Hollinger.

Examples of statements of contemporary Progressive Christian beliefs come from The Center for Progressive Christianity (TCPC, Cambridge, MA) and Crosswalk America (Phoenix, AZ):

• TCPC has given out the Eight Points - a statement of agreement about Christianity as a basis for tolerance and human rights
• CrossWalk's Phoenix Affirmations - include twelve points defining Christian love of God, Christian love of neighbor, and Christian love of self.

See also

• Christian left
• Evangelical left
• Sojourners
• CrossLeft, organizing the Christian Left

• FDR's New Deal
• Civil Rights Movement for racial justice in the American South
• Liberation Theology
• Liberal Christianity