By "progressive Christianity" I am gathering mainline Protestants with progressive evangelicals and ex-evangelicals. The label "progressive" here is pointing to a more liberal political orientation. By progressive Christianity I mean Christians who tend to vote for Democrats out of social justice concerns.
Given those social justice concerns, a primary obsessio of progressive Christianity is Injustice. Two other obsessios are Suffering and Ecological Grief.
Basically, where the obsessios of evangelicalism are largely focused upon the self--Guilt, Belonging, and Self-Alienation--the obsessios of progressive Christianity tend to be focused upon the pain and suffering of the world. Injustice. Oppression. Social marginalization. Victimization. Dehumanization. Famine. Food scarcity. Poverty. Destitution. Violence. War. Environmental devastation. Climate Change. Animal suffering.
Related to these concerns, the experience of epiphania involves the pursuit of justice, the alleviation of suffering, inclusion of the marginalized, and creation care. The focus shifts from away from human guilt toward a non-judgmental, unconditional declaration of God's love and care. Social inclusion and welcome are paramount, leading these churches toward more progressive views regarding gender and sexuality.
Also, visions of penal substitutionary atonement are replaced with moral influence perspectives. Christ doesn't die to satisfy the wrath of God but shows us how to love and live a human life. As an example of this, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) wanted to add the song "In Christ Alone" to their hymnal Glory to God. They asked the authors of the hymn if they could change the original lyric “Till on that cross as Jesus died / the wrath of God was satisfied” to “Till on that cross as Jesus died / the love of God was magnified.” This change was rejected, but it illustrates the point. The two lyrics, original and proposed change, come from different theological worlds. This is only one example. A perusal of mainline hymnals will reveal many others.
On the progressive evangelical side, consider the prayerbook created by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals. Common Prayer, as a daily prayer book like the Book of Common Prayer from the Anglican tradition, reflects the outward-facing obsessios of Injustice, Suffering, and Ecological Grief. Here are liturgies and prayers to form you into an "ordinary radical," an activistic Christian seeking political and environmental justice and change.
Stepping back, we can see why evangelical and progressive Christians experience mutual incomprehension when they encounter each other. They come from very different theological worlds.
