Atonement & Ransom

Historical Congregationalism affirmed the penal substitutionary and satisfaction models of atonement consistent with the Calvinist tradition: Christ bore the punishment for the sins of the elect, satisfying divine justice. Jonathan Edwards' theology of the atonement and the New England Puritan preaching tradition consistently employed substitutionary imagery.

The UCC Statement of Faith describes God in Jesus Christ as 'conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to himself,' using broad reconciliation language without specifying a theory. The UCC's non-creedal character and theological diversity mean that individual congregations and theologians hold a wide range of atonement theologies — from penal substitution (in more conservative congregations) to moral influence, exemplarism, liberation theologies, and non-violent models of the cross. Progressive UCC theologians have often critiqued penal substitution as reinforcing cycles of violence, and propose relational, justice-oriented, or Christus Victor models instead.