Both Christianity — where they part company
Progressive Christianity and Roman Catholicism
Close relatives, which is exactly why the 8 axes they diverge on are the interesting part. Mean distance across all seventeen axes: 0.42 (0 would be identical).
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.
A personal, transcendent God known through revelation and reason together, mediated by a sacramental church with teaching authority. Humanity is wounded and rescued by grace, which reaches people through sacraments rather than around them.
Where they agree
C2 Shape of time
Both sit at one life, then judgment — a gap of 0.08.
A3 Plurality
Both sit at strictly one and leaning strictly one respectively — a gap of 0.10.
Where they part company
B3 Institutional authority
Progressive Christianity: leaning individual conscience decides. Roman Catholicism: clergy and tradition decide. A gap of 0.75 on an axis running from “clergy and tradition decide” to “individual conscience decides”.
E1 Exclusivity
Progressive Christianity: many valid paths. Roman Catholicism: leaning one true path. A gap of 0.65 on an axis running from “one true path” to “many valid paths”.
B1 Source of truth
Progressive Christianity: leaning reason and direct experience. Roman Catholicism: revealed and fixed. A gap of 0.60 on an axis running from “revealed and fixed” to “reason and direct experience”.
C3 The human condition
Progressive Christianity: leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound. Roman Catholicism: fallen and in need of rescue. A gap of 0.60 on an axis running from “fallen and in need of rescue” to “ignorant but fundamentally sound”.
B2 Reading of sacred text
Progressive Christianity: metaphorical, or no text at all. Roman Catholicism: leaning literal and binding. A gap of 0.55 on an axis running from “literal and binding” to “metaphorical, or no text at all”.
D2 Centrality of ritual
Progressive Christianity: between essential and prescribed and optional or absent. Roman Catholicism: essential and prescribed. A gap of 0.47 on an axis running from “essential and prescribed” to “optional or absent”.
C1 Survival of the self
Progressive Christianity: between ends at death and continues in some form. Roman Catholicism: continues in some form. A gap of 0.46 on an axis running from “ends at death” to “continues in some form”.
A2 Personhood
Progressive Christianity: between impersonal principle or order and a personal being one can address. Roman Catholicism: a personal being one can address. A gap of 0.43 on an axis running from “impersonal principle or order” to “a personal being one can address”.
All seventeen axes
| Axis | Progressive Christianity | Roman Catholicism | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine reality | between nothing beyond the natural and a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly exists | 0.38 |
| A2 Personhood | between impersonal principle or order and a personal being one can address | a personal being one can address | 0.43 |
| A3 Plurality | strictly one | leaning strictly one | 0.10 |
| A4 Locus | leaning fully present within it | between wholly beyond the world and fully present within it | 0.27 |
| B1 Source of truth | leaning reason and direct experience | revealed and fixed | 0.60 |
| B2 Reading of sacred text | metaphorical, or no text at all | leaning literal and binding | 0.55 |
| B3 Institutional authority | leaning individual conscience decides | clergy and tradition decide | 0.75 |
| C1 Survival of the self | between ends at death and continues in some form | continues in some form | 0.46 |
| C2 Shape of time | one life, then judgment | one life, then judgment | 0.08 |
| C3 The human condition | leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound | fallen and in need of rescue | 0.60 |
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good | between given as grace and achieved by effort or insight | leaning given as grace | 0.38 |
| D2 Centrality of ritual | between essential and prescribed and optional or absent | essential and prescribed | 0.47 |
| D3 The body | leaning to be celebrated | leaning to be disciplined | 0.37 |
| E1 Exclusivity | many valid paths | leaning one true path | 0.65 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmos | between an intentional act and beginningless or natural | an intentional act | 0.36 |
| E3 Locus of belonging | leaning an individual choice | between a people, inherited and an individual choice | 0.35 |
| E4 Standing of nature | leaning animate and itself sacred | between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred | 0.30 |
Positions for Progressive Christianity rest principally on Borg, Spong and the Center for Progressive Christianity’s Eight Points; for Roman Catholicism, on Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed., 1997). 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.