Can Traditional and Progressive Catholics Get Along

Today I sat down with Instagram/TikTok creator and lay theologian Salina Bear for a candid conversation about what it really means to be Catholic, whether you’re more progressive, conservative, or neither!

I had a chance to ask Salina about her story and personal journey to the Catholic Church, the “sectarianism” that shows up across both Protestant and Catholic spaces, why so many people get accused of not being “real Catholics,” the history of feminism and misconceptions about it, and how progressive and conservative Catholics can come together in an increasingly divided Church.

This chat was awesome. I hope you enjoy hearing from Salina. Make sure to give her a follow!

Salina Bear is a Catholic feminist and lay theologian based on the East Coast. When she’s not filming or editing content for TikTok and Instagram, she’s puttering in her garden, baking sourdough, or sneaking off to adoration. She spends much of her time reading papal encyclicals, theology texts, and vampire romances. She has studied with Notre Dame, Catholic International University, and a few Protestant universities. Her theological work focuses on correcting understandings of women in the Bible, disproving penal substitutionary atonement, helping people break out of dualistic thinking, and reminding fellow Catholics that critical thinking has a place in a life of faith.

Follow Salina: @salina.bear on Instagram and TikTok

• 00:00 – Welcome & Introductions

• ~02:36 – Salina’s Background

• ~03:53 – On Evangelical “Veneer”

• ~04:21 – The Breaking Point

• ~05:09 – What Was Missing

• ~06:11 – Stepping Away from Chrisianity

• ~06:57 – Finding Catholicism

• ~07:35 – A Mystical Experience at Adoration

• ~08:47 – Abuse in the Catholic Church

• ~12:07 – The Grove

• ~16:33 – Catholic Fundamentalism in America

• ~20:16 – Sectarianism on Both Sides

• ~24:00 – Responding to “You’re Not a Real Catholic”

• ~28:19 – Audience Q&A: What Makes Someone a Theologian?

• ~33:43 – The “Trad Wife” Question

• ~34:29 – Defining Feminism

• ~35:38 – The Feminine Mystique & Second-Wave Feminism

• ~36:43 – What Feminism Actually Won

• ~39:04 – Feminism vs. Capitalism

• ~43:57 – The Fox and the Hound Analogy

• ~46:41 – Progressive vs. Conservative Catholics: Finding Common Ground

• ~52:15 – The “Fence in the Woods” Parable

• ~57:00 – Defining “Progressive Catholic”

• ~58:33 – Q&A: What Parts of Tradition Can Change?

• ~59:34 – Humanae Vitae & Contraception

• ~1:03:42 – The “250 Dogmas” of the Church

• ~1:04:44 – Closing

• Catholic Fundamentalism in America by Mark Massa SJ

• The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

• Mona Lisa Smile

• The Fox and the Hound

• Humanae Vitae

• Humani Generis

Instagram & TikTok: @salina.bear