Conservative Christianity


Conservative Christianity, also known as conservative theology, theological conservatism, traditional Christianity, or biblical orthodoxy is a grouping of overlapping and denominationally diverse theological movements within Christianity that seeks to retain the orthodox and long-standing traditions and beliefs of Christianity. It is contrasted with Liberal Christianity and Progressive Christianity, which are seen as heretical heterodoxies by theological conservatives. Conservative Christianity should not be mistaken as being necessarily synonymous with the political philosophy of conservatism, nor the Christian right.
Theological conservatism is found in Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Protestantism, the Church of the East, Old Catholicism, and throughout all of Mainstream-Nicene Christianity in both Western Christian and Eastern Christian traditions. Within Protestantism, it is largely made up of Evangelical Christianity and Christian Fundamentalism, while the Confessing Movement, Confessionalism, and to an extent Neo-orthodoxy make up the remaining; in Roman Catholicism it is inclusive of Catholics that adhere to Traditionalist Catholicism as well as the Magisterium, Scriptures, and Traditions of the Church at the exclusion of Catholic Modernism and Folk Catholicism; and in Old Catholicism it currently includes the Union of Scranton, those of similar beliefs, and historically the Union of Utrecht until its adoption of theological liberalism. In spite of this, not every community has had a direct connection with the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy.
Evangelical leaders like Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council have called attention to the problem of equating the term Christian right with theological conservatism and Evangelicalism. Although evangelicals constitute the core constituency of the Christian right within the United States, not all evangelicals fit that political description. The problem of describing the Christian right which in most cases is conflated with theological conservatism in secular media, is further complicated by the fact that the label religious conservative or conservative Christian applies to other Christian denominational religious groups who are theologically, socially, and culturally conservative but do not have overtly political organizations associated with them, which are usually uninvolved, uninterested, apathetic, or indifferent towards politics. Tim Keller, an Evangelical theologian and Presbyterian Church in America pastor, shows that Conservative Christianity predates the Christian right, and that being a theological conservative didn't necessitate being a political conservative, that some political progressive views around economics, helping the poor, the redistribution of wealth, and racial diversity are compatible with theologically conservative Christianity. Rod Dreher, a senior editor for The American Conservative, a secular conservative magazine, also argues the same differences, even claiming that a "traditional Christian" a theological conservative, can simultaneously be left on economics and even a socialist at that while maintaining traditional Christian beliefs.

General beliefs

Moreover, it went on to address philosophical concerns the presuppositions for the first time arguing beyond the creeds that philosophical positions were vital, "''Since the Renaissance, and more particularly since the Enlightenment, world views have been developed that involve skepticism about basic Christian tenets. Such are the agnosticism that denies that God is knowable, the rationalism that denies that He is incomprehensible, the idealism that denies that He is transcendent, and the existentialism that denies rationality in His relationships with us. When these un- and anti-Biblical principles seep into men's theologies at a presuppositional level, as today they frequently do, faithful interpretation of Holy Scripture becomes impossible."''

Component movements

It may specifically refer to movements such as:
  • Christian fundamentalism, a movement within Protestantism upholding biblical literalism.
  • Evangelicalism, worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again" in which an individual experiences personal conversion as well as the biblical inerrancy.
  • *Conservative evangelicalism in the United Kingdom, a theological movement within evangelical Protestant Christianity
  • The Confessing Movement, an evangelical and/or confessional movement within several mainline Protestant denominations
  • A few scholars label Roman Catholics who reject Liberal Christianity, Progressive Christianity, and Catholic Modernism in favor of more traditional doctrines as fundamentalists.
  • *Catholics who are faithful to the teachings of the Magisterium as well as the Scriptures and Traditions of the Church, can be considered theological conservatives in certain respects
  • *The Traditionalist Catholic movement, Roman Catholics who believe that the Catholic Church has strayed from its doctrine since the Second Vatican Council.
  • The Union of Scranton within the Old Catholic Church.
  • Confessionalism, a belief in the importance of full and unambiguous assent to the whole of a religious teaching
  • *Confessional Lutheranism, a designation for Lutherans or Lutheran groups who believe in the doctrines taught in the Book of Concord of 1580, which is a summary of the teachings found in Scripture, requires attention to how that faith is actually being preached, taught, and put into practice.
  • Theologically Conservative Christian views on Homosexuality.
  • Neo-orthodoxy, a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War as a reaction against doctrines of 19th-century liberal theology and a reevaluation of the teachings of the Reformation.