ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Liberal theology

Liberal theology means looking at God and religion in a very open-minded and flexible way. It means being okay with different ideas and beliefs about God and religion, and trying to understand them instead of just saying they’re wrong. It’s like if you were playing a game with your friends and you all agreed on the rules, but then someone came along and wanted to change some of the rules. A liberal theologian would be okay with that and would try to understand why the new rules were important to that person, instead of just saying they were wrong and refusing to play with them. Liberal theology also means looking at religious texts and stories in a more symbolic or metaphorical way, instead of always taking them literally. It’s like how when your teacher reads you a story in class, they might stop and explain what a word means or why a character is feeling a certain way. A liberal theologian would do the same thing with religious texts, trying to understand the deeper meaning behind them. Overall, liberal theology is about being open-minded, curious, and willing to learn from different ideas and perspectives.