Social trinitarianism is a Christian interpretation of the Trinity as consisting of three persons, each person having their own center of consciousness. These persons are united in a loving relationship, which reflects a model for human relationships.[1][2] The teaching emphasizes that God is an inherently social being.[3] Human unity approaches conformity to the image of God's unity through self-giving, empathy, adoration for one another, etc. Such love is a fitting ethical likeness to God but is in stark contrast to God's unity of being.[4] Those who are often associated with this term include Jürgen Moltmann,[5]Miroslav Volf,[6]Elizabeth Johnson,[7]Leonardo Boff,[8]John Zizioulas,[9]William Lane Craig[10] and Catherine LaCugna.
Social trinitarianism is often in contrast to Nicene trinitarianism, as social trinitarianism generally denies the trinity being defined primarily by the eternal relations of origin.[11]
^Theology for the Community of God, pg 76, Stanley J. Grenz, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000, ISBN0-8028-4755-2: "At the heart of Christian understanding is the declaration that God is triune - Father Son and Spirit. This means that in his eternal essence the one God is a social reality, the social Trinity. Because God is the social Trinity, a plurality in unity"