With the appointment of Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury, the phrase liberal Christianity has once again become the lightning rod of Christian debate. For many, the term evokes a moral or political stance—a shorthand for being progressive on issues such as women’s ordination or sexuality. Yet, as I argue in my latest video, this modern use often misses the deeper and more fascinating history behind the term.

Historically, liberal Christianity did not emerge as a political label but as a nineteenth-century theological movement. Figures like Friedrich Schleiermacher, Ernst Troeltsch, and later Paul Tillich sought to reconcile Christian faith with the growing influence of modern philosophy and critical reason. Influenced by Immanuel Kant’s insight that our knowledge of the world is shaped by human perception, these theologians proposed that Christianity should not rest on external proofs or metaphysical certainties but on the inner life of faith: on feeling, moral awareness, and dependence on the divine.

This historical liberalism, therefore, was not about moral laxity or political alignment; it was about re-thinking the foundations of belief in an age of doubt. Yet today, the term is tossed about in online debates as an insult or banner, dividing “liberal” and “conservative” Christians into warring camps. What was once a philosophical exploration of religious consciousness has become a cultural weapon in the so-called culture wars.

The danger here is confusion. Topics as diverse as homosexuality, abortion, women’s ordination, and clerical celibacy are often thrown together under the same label, though they belong to very different theological categories. As I discuss in the video, moral questions (such as sexual ethics) are not equivalent to ecclesial questions (such as ordination or celibacy). To conflate them is to reduce complex theological reasoning into mere politics.

Liberal Christianity, properly understood, is not about rejecting faith or bending to modern values. It is about asking what kind of truth religion conveys—whether Christianity’s truth lies in historical propositions or in the transformative moral and spiritual encounter with God. Re-examining this distinction allows us to move beyond partisan shouting matches and toward genuine theological dialogue.

Ultimately, Christ’s command was not to take sides in ideological battles but to love one another and seek truth in charity. If we begin from there, the conversation around liberal and conservative Christianity might finally regain its depth—and its grace.