Assess the future relevance of liberal Protestant theological traditions in the context of World Christianity.

Religious authority in Protestantism had previously been sola scriptura; the Bible was the ultimate authority for Protestant Christians. However, Liberalism made authority wholly subjective based on individual spiritual experience. Ultimate authority was not to be found in any external form, be it from Bible, Church, or tradition, but rather on the individual’s “reason, conscience and intuition.” The Bible became the record of humanities evolving religious conceptions rather than the revealed word of God. This placed liberal Protestantism in opposition with mainstream Protestantism as well as other denominations. The New Testament was normative only in the teachings of Jesus. The rest of the New Testament was viewed as tainted in that it was changing the focus of the gospel from religion of Jesus to a religion about Jesus. This has become a popular concept for many modern Christians for a variety of reasons, discussed later, this is perhaps the element of the “spirit” of liberal Protestantism which is most active in the world today. Many if not most modern Christians in the West, are becoming increasingly unlikely to blindly accept authority. The reliance instead upon personal experience, the absence of which has drawn many Westerners from religion, will be a great asset to the spreading of liberal Protestantism, particularly as democracy and the ideal of personal freedom spreads across the globe.  

There are a number of cultural trends which have, are and will impact against religion in general and thus have implications for the future of liberal Christianity.  Cultural pluralism is an everyday fact of life in the west and where not present in the global south it is likely to come into being as the increases in mass media technology, a defining cause of cultural pluralism, becomes more prevalent in those areas. Westerners are becoming increasingly aware of different belief systems within the varied cultures and just as importantly, the value of said cultures, present in the world. Peter Berger has argued that pluralism “breeds a philosophical relativism in which the average person stands confused as to whether any single voice among the contending options lays claim to the truth.” This lack of decisiveness is a threat to the future of liberal Protestantism as liberal ministers “appears as a reed in the wind, his or her sermons being virtually reviews of books championing the latest cultural fad. No claims to ultimacy issue from these pulpits.”

The breakdown of community is another phenomenon of modern urban life which is both increasingly present in the global south and thus a factor in the future of liberal Protestantism. The “secular city” was hailed by Harvey Cox and many others for the autonomy it offered. The freedom it offered to its inhabitants would seem to be in keeping with the spirit of liberal Christianity. However, the breakdown of community caused “loneliness and alienation but also the dissolution of the structures of socialization.” The alienation and violence are more prevalent than the promised liberation which may cause those living within them to abandon liberal Christianities tenets altogether.

The celebration of individualism may count in liberal Protestantism’s favour. The unwillingness to be bound by authority which has not been directly experienced is both in keeping with the liberal theological tradition and the outcome of this cultural trend. However, it remains to be seen if this trend will follow in the global south, where it is not currently a common trait. The reasons for this are debateable and unfortunately beyond the scope of this essay.

A spirit of antiauthoritarianism is a fourth cultural trend impacting upon the title question. If the final authority is the individual themselves, there is a danger of self-serving narcissism superceding any authority claimed by the community over the individual. The resistance to authority can be viewed as a reflection of both individualism and pluralism. For “when there are no absolutes, there are no authorities.” Again, it remains to be seen if this trend will translate from the West to areas where liberal Protestantism may gain a hold and therefore a place within world Christianity. Therefore “One must wonder what kind of authority the liberal church today represents for many of its members”, in both the West and the global south.

Perhaps the greatest threat to the influence of liberal Protestantism, ironically comes from liberal political ideas. An often misunderstood fact is that the two are theoretically completely separate schools of thought. It is entirely possible to be politically conservative and an adherent of liberal Protestantism. In practice however, the two often go hand in hand. This has created friction in the USA in the United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomination whose theology is inline with liberal Protestant tenets. The "theological surrender to the moral and spiritual confusion of contemporary culture." Has led to the loss of members within the USA. This will be even more pronounced when attempting to evangelise outside of the USA or Europe, which will become necessary to remain a significant part of World Christianity, where views are often much more conservative. An example of this is the ordination of women in the Anglican Communion. While Anglicanism could not be called a liberal Protestant denomination, Anglo-Catholics and “low church” Evangelicals make it impossible, the theology of the “broad church” Anglicanism has areas of convergence with liberal Protestant theology and has obviously been influenced by it. When debating issues such as the ordination of women and homosexual men, British Anglo-Catholics found much of their support coming from Africa. There were additional factors entered into the debate. For example the delicate relationship in Africa between Christianity and Islam, a relationship it was claimed would be irretrievably damaged by the ordination of women/gay men. This is indicative of the type of issue which is a strong barrier to the progression of liberal Protestantism into World Christianity, particularly, when it is intrinsically linked to liberal politics. If liberal Protestant theology is not able to free itself from the image of being in effect a stalking horse for liberal politics, it is unlikely to gain significant influence upon World Christianity and indeed may lose the influence it does have in the West.

Theologians such as Peter Phan have made much of the shifting demographic of Christianity, Phan claiming that by 2050 only one fifth of Christians will be “Anglo’s”. The statistical data, which is already referenced, supports this. It could well be argued then that as Christianity continues to recede in its traditional heartlands, all denominations, liberal Protestantism or otherwise, will have their future relevance determined by their ability to gain influence in Africa and Asia. However, this argument, while valid and supported by hard statistics, hinges upon the non-European expressions of Christianity being separate and distinct from the European expression of Christianity. Thus if liberal Protestantism has a substantial influence outside of the lands of its origin, it may still be said to have influence within World Christianity. Therefore, demographics alone can not form a strong argument.

The natural progression of this argument is then to examine the growth of World Christianity and the role of liberal Protestantism within it.  Prior to World War I, there was mention of “World Evangelisation”. Obviously not the same concept but understandable when the demographics are considered, eighty percent of the worlds Christians resided in the West. Evangelisation suggests that the focus is upon converting non-Christians however, still suggesting the mental framework and attitudes characterising colonial era Christianity.  Mark the term “World Christian” appearing “as a transitional phrase that emerged after World War I as an educational concept to help

(specifically American) Christians gain more respect for other peoples of the world.”  Interestingly then, the term actually predates “world Christianity” but refers to cultural awareness and sensitivity that has come to be viewed as vital in modern ecumenical dialogue.  The phrase “world Christianity” emerged after the first World War and was not solely an acknowledgement of the shifting demographics of Christianity. The beginnings of Communion Ecclesiology, stemming from the likes of Vatican II, was starting to allow local variations and contributions of indigenous expressions of Christianity to be viewed as an occurrence to be welcomed rather than tolerated.  This was undoubtedly linked to the shattering effect of World War I on Europe. Christians losing confidence in their “cultural” form of Christianity in began to focus instead upon the uniting aspect of Christianity. While overt acknowledgement of the value of non-European expressions of Christianity was not yet manifest, there was a pronounced softening of intolerance and non-Western Christian leaders were given more scope to voice their opinions. This can best be viewed in the composition of world missionary conferences. In Edinburgh in 1910, only 17 of 1,100 delegates were “nationals” from mission fields. At Jerusalem in 1928, a quarter of the delegates came from younger churches, and at Tambaram in 1938 half were non-Western. This was definite progress toward “world Christianity”. However, while it was increasingly permissible to look upon indigenous Christians as suitable for spreading the Gospel throughout their own countries, it is debateable how much respect they were truly afforded as theologians in their own right. Philip Jenkins in “The Next Christianity”, likens the current situation to a new reformation, with geographical rather than denominational in nature.

 When dealing with the integration of Christianity to indigenous culture and beliefs, the issue of syncretism must be examined. Syncretism is a charge increasingly levelled at non-European churches. Korean theologian Hyun Kyung Chung created a great deal of controversy following a liturgical presentation at the 1991 World Council of Churches annual meeting, which included elements and practices from Asian Shamanic religions. This raises the question as to when such syncretism removes the practice from Christianity. This is separate to the point already made about new religions as some cultural changes are inevitable and even useful when Christianity is introduced to a new culture. However, when key elements such as liturgical practice are altered, an argument can be made that such practices are no longer Christian. Denominations originating from Europe are not immune to syncretisation. They are however, more resistant due to the existence of regulatory organisations such as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose role includes the opposition of such changes. Thus, European expression of Christianity could be seen as the expression as regards purity of tradition. Therefore, while liberal Protestantism will doubtlessly continue to thrive outside of Europe in the sense that it’s core beliefs, adopted by other evangelising denominations, are more easily integrated into non-European Christian practices, there is a concern as to at which point it is no longer Christianity, let alone liberal Protestantism. Whether or not the founders of liberal Protestantism would be at all concerned by this is an interesting point but outside the scope of this essay.

In conclusion, liberal Protestantism has probably reached the extent of its influence in the West as discrete denomination. It is beset by neo-orthodox critics and floundering under its automatic connection to liberal politics. However, many of its beliefs remain attractive to modern Christians and have been absorbed into other denominations of Christianity. As the politics and socioeconomic conditions in Africa and Asia continue to improve, it is possible, even likely that the social/cultural factor examined previously will make liberal Christianity in some form more attractive in these areas. To answer the title question, the future relevance of liberal Christianity will be significant if subtle, if it manages to remake itself into a cohesive theological entity and divide itself from politics. Otherwise it will play an increasingly insignificant role on the world stage.

Bibliogaphy

Sanneh, Lamin., Whose religion is Christianity?: the gospel beyond the West (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, September 2003) page 22.

McGrath, Alistair., Christian Theology (Blackwell Publishing 2007) Page 82

http://bible.org/article/liberalism Online article. (Accessed 12/05/10)

Drummond, Henry., Ascent of Man (New York, 1894) Page 334

http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5034&Itemid=100 Online article (Accessed 16/05/10)

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1289 (Online article (Accessed 14/05/10)

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=206 Online article (Accessed 15/05/10)

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1289

http://www.biblicalwitness.org/introduction.htm Online article (Accessed 14/05/10)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7479255.stm Online article (Accessed 12/05/10)

Phan, Peter., Is Christianity a Western Religion? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD1hRY19uRs accessed 26/10/09.16:53)           

Johnson, Tom and Kim, Sandra., “Describing the Worldwide Christian Phenomenon International” Page 81

Jenkins, Philip., The next Christendom: the coming of global Christianity (Oxford University Press, USA March 31, 2002) page 120.                                                                      

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