Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

I encountered an interesting new concept today: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

“[T]he faith American Christians profess is, from a moral and theological perspective, shockingly thin. Christian Smith, a sociologist at Notre Dame, has been leading a long-term study of the religious and spiritual lives of millennials. Mr. Smith finds that what he terms “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism” has displaced authentic Christianity as the true religion of American Christians.” Rod Dreher in the NY Times.

“Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is a pseudoreligion that jettisons the doctrines of historical biblical Christianity and replaces them with feel-good, vaguely spiritual nostrums. In M.T.D., the highest goal of the religious life is being happy and feeling good about oneself. It’s the perfect religion for a self-centered, consumerist culture. But it is not Christianity.”