Modern Church is the main advocate for liberal theology in the British churches.

  • By ‘liberal theology’ we mean that religious beliefs can and should develop in the light of new insights.
  • Divine revelation has not come to an end. God invites us to believe in ways appropriate to 21st Century.
  • New ideas should be judged on their merits. They may be true today even if they have not been officially accepted by church leaders in the past.

An open, enquiring faith

We therefore promote open, honest searching for truth in a spirit of humility and respect. We welcome believers of any denomination or none with a faith willing to:

  • discover new insights
  • engage in dialogue with other traditions
  • contribute to, and learn from, the issues facing society today
  • challenge the churches to let go of outdated practices.

Engaging with churches

We often play an important part in church debates, leading the way to major changes. We are often challenging the status quo, but through constructive theological arguments and campaigning skill what we stand for is often eventually absorbed by the mainstream. We are not first and foremost a campaigning organisation but we often support campaigners with theological resources.

Modern Church has been promoting liberal theology since 1898.

Activities include:

  • a quarterly theological journal: Modern Believing, first published in 1911
  • a quarterly newsletter: Signs of the Times
  • an annual conference and other events featuring leading speakers in their fields
  • Forewords booklets illustrating liberal approaches to theological topics
  •  letters, papers, articles and other publications in response to current events.

Contemporary relevance

  • opposing the Anglican Covenant with comprehensive online explanations of the background and full-page advertisements in the Church Times and Church of England Newspaper.
  • supporting women bishops for the Church of England
  • at events like the Lambeth Conference and Greenbelt Festival.

New resources

  • Together in Hope – a series of short books exploring matters of faith and belief produced jointly with Progressive Christianity Network Britain, Free to Believe and St Marks Centre for Radical Christianity
  • Making Sense books published by SPCK  looking at aspects of Christian faith from a liberal perspective
  • Leaflets reflecting Modern Church’s approach and theology
  • Audio and video recordings including Modern Church people talking about their understanding of Christianity and recent conference talks.

Looking to the future

We would like to do more – How to get involved