Both Christianity — where they part company
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Progressive Christianity
Close relatives, which is exactly why the 8 axes they diverge on are the interesting part. Mean distance across all seventeen axes: 0.37 (0 would be identical).
An embodied God within the universe rather than outside it, continuing revelation through a living prophet, and matter organised rather than created from nothing. The Fall is read as a necessary step forward, which puts C3 far above every other Christian body here.
Keeps the practice, the story and the ethics while reading the metaphysics as metaphor. Scripture is human testimony rather than dictation, other paths are treated as genuinely valid, and the point of the whole thing is how you live now.
Where they agree
C2 Shape of time
Both sit at one life, then judgment — a gap of 0.02.
D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good
Both sit at between given as grace and achieved by effort or insight — a gap of 0.03.
A4 Locus
Both sit at leaning fully present within it — a gap of 0.10.
E2 Origin of the cosmos
Both sit at leaning an intentional act and between an intentional act and beginningless or natural respectively — a gap of 0.10.
Where they part company
E1 Exclusivity
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: one true path. Progressive Christianity: many valid paths. A gap of 0.85 on an axis running from “one true path” to “many valid paths”.
B3 Institutional authority
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: clergy and tradition decide. Progressive Christianity: leaning individual conscience decides. A gap of 0.75 on an axis running from “clergy and tradition decide” to “individual conscience decides”.
B2 Reading of sacred text
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: leaning literal and binding. Progressive Christianity: metaphorical, or no text at all. A gap of 0.70 on an axis running from “literal and binding” to “metaphorical, or no text at all”.
D3 The body
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: leaning to be disciplined. Progressive Christianity: leaning to be celebrated. A gap of 0.52 on an axis running from “to be disciplined” to “to be celebrated”.
C1 Survival of the self
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: continues in some form. Progressive Christianity: between ends at death and continues in some form. A gap of 0.48 on an axis running from “ends at death” to “continues in some form”.
D2 Centrality of ritual
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: essential and prescribed. Progressive Christianity: between essential and prescribed and optional or absent. A gap of 0.47 on an axis running from “essential and prescribed” to “optional or absent”.
A2 Personhood
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: a personal being one can address. Progressive Christianity: between impersonal principle or order and a personal being one can address. A gap of 0.46 on an axis running from “impersonal principle or order” to “a personal being one can address”.
B1 Source of truth
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: leaning revealed and fixed. Progressive Christianity: leaning reason and direct experience. A gap of 0.45 on an axis running from “revealed and fixed” to “reason and direct experience”.
All seventeen axes
| Axis | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Progressive Christianity | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine reality | a divine reality certainly exists | between nothing beyond the natural and a divine reality certainly exists | 0.38 |
| A2 Personhood | a personal being one can address | between impersonal principle or order and a personal being one can address | 0.46 |
| A3 Plurality | between strictly one and many powers and spirits | strictly one | 0.28 |
| A4 Locus | leaning fully present within it | leaning fully present within it | 0.10 |
| B1 Source of truth | leaning revealed and fixed | leaning reason and direct experience | 0.45 |
| B2 Reading of sacred text | leaning literal and binding | metaphorical, or no text at all | 0.70 |
| B3 Institutional authority | clergy and tradition decide | leaning individual conscience decides | 0.75 |
| C1 Survival of the self | continues in some form | between ends at death and continues in some form | 0.48 |
| C2 Shape of time | one life, then judgment | one life, then judgment | 0.02 |
| C3 The human condition | between fallen and in need of rescue and ignorant but fundamentally sound | leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound | 0.17 |
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good | between given as grace and achieved by effort or insight | between given as grace and achieved by effort or insight | 0.03 |
| D2 Centrality of ritual | essential and prescribed | between essential and prescribed and optional or absent | 0.47 |
| D3 The body | leaning to be disciplined | leaning to be celebrated | 0.52 |
| E1 Exclusivity | one true path | many valid paths | 0.85 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmos | leaning an intentional act | between an intentional act and beginningless or natural | 0.10 |
| E3 Locus of belonging | between a people, inherited and an individual choice | leaning an individual choice | 0.22 |
| E4 Standing of nature | leaning creation, given for use | leaning animate and itself sacred | 0.37 |
Positions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rest principally on Articles of Faith (1842), Doctrine and Covenants, Book of Mormon; for Progressive Christianity, on Borg, Spong and the Center for Progressive Christianity’s Eight Points. Per-cell sources are listed on each tradition’s own page.
The questionnaire places your answers on these same axes and ranks all 65 traditions by how closely they match. Take it.