For those that don't know, there is another monotheistic religion on the block in America called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism or MTD. It is currently the largest religion of all American teenagers and, since the study was done in 2005, all young adults, and it is transforming a new generation. I will provide some quotes that explain it and how widespread it is:
Here is an excellent article that explains the problem by Albert Mohler:
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism–the New American Religion
I provide the following insights form Mohler's article:
Before I go on, I myself have never taught youth, but I am somewhat familiar with the kind of lessons used for the youth ministry. IMHO they tend to be a quick entry into big bible topics or about issues facing the life of modern teens. I have seen a class go through the Truth Project as the deepest into theology and doctrine they will likely ever go. Thus, these lesson do not tend to be anything in depth theologically, such as even reading from a baptist confession and discussing it like the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
In a way Mohler points out the problem may be in how adults are taught. I know that adult lessons tend to be moderately more in depth than youth lessons, but tend not to cover anything related to what a pastor or church leader might learn in seminary. The lessons strike me as single-use delving into the bible on a specific set of verses or general topic. It is not something that would help intellectually access the treasure trove of blogs, articles, sermons, and historical documents on the internet. Almost all of which require seminary teaching to parse.
All of that said, I arrive at the topic of this thread: Does moralistic therapeutic deism demand a change to how we educate our youth and adults?
I'll go out on a limb, since I have some training in teaching adults and youth from seminary, and say that this may require that we radically think about the current way we structure and teach lessons in adult Sunday School, Small Groups, Studies, and Life Groups. I do not know exactly what that would look like, but its curriculum would have to be more in line with what a pastor knows and what a seminary teaches than the content currently being used. I am at a loss for what to teach youth except to borrow from the literature used in Confirmation in non-Baptist denominations, and to have studies of actual confessions as part of the reading in addition to topics relevant to teenage life.
I look forward to the ideas of others.
As described by Smith and his team, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism consists of beliefs like these: 1. “A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.” 2. “God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.” 3. “The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about ones self.” 4. “God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.” 5. “Good people go to heaven when they die.”...
...As sociologists, Smith and his team suggest that this Moralistic Therapeutic Deism may now constitute something like a dominant civil religion that constitutes the belief system for the culture at large...
...Moving to even deeper issues, these researches claim that Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is “colonizing” Christianity itself, as this new civil religion seduces converts who never have to leave their congregations and Christian identification as they embrace this new faith and all of its undemanding dimensions.
...As sociologists, Smith and his team suggest that this Moralistic Therapeutic Deism may now constitute something like a dominant civil religion that constitutes the belief system for the culture at large...
...Moving to even deeper issues, these researches claim that Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is “colonizing” Christianity itself, as this new civil religion seduces converts who never have to leave their congregations and Christian identification as they embrace this new faith and all of its undemanding dimensions.
Here is an excellent article that explains the problem by Albert Mohler:
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism–the New American Religion
I provide the following insights form Mohler's article:
One other aspect of this study deserves attention at this point. The researchers, who conducted thousands of hours of interviews with a carefully identified spectrum of teenagers, discovered that for many of these teens, the interview itself was the first time they had ever discussed a theological question with an adult. What does this say about our churches? What does this say about this generation of parents?...
...All this means is that teenagers have been listening carefully. They have been observing their parents in the larger culture with diligence and insight. They understand just how little their parents really believe and just how much many of their churches and Christian institutions have accommodated themselves to the dominant culture. They sense the degree to which theological conviction has been sacrificed on the altar of individualism and a relativistic understanding of truth. They have learned from their elders that self-improvement is the one great moral imperative to which all are accountable, and they have observed the fact that the highest aspiration of those who shape this culture is to find happiness, security, and meaning in life.
This research project demands the attention of every thinking Christian. Those who are prone to dismiss sociological analysis as irrelevant will miss the point. We must now look at the United States of America as missiologists once viewed nations that had never heard the gospel. Indeed, our missiological challenge may be even greater than the confrontation with paganism, for we face a succession of generations who have transformed Christianity into something that bears no resemblance to the faith revealed in the Bible. The faith “once delivered to the saints” is no longer even known, not only by American teenagers, but by most of their parents. Millions of Americans believe they are Christians, simply because they have some historic tie to a Christian denomination or identity.
This research project demands the attention of every thinking Christian. Those who are prone to dismiss sociological analysis as irrelevant will miss the point. We must now look at the United States of America as missiologists once viewed nations that had never heard the gospel. Indeed, our missiological challenge may be even greater than the confrontation with paganism, for we face a succession of generations who have transformed Christianity into something that bears no resemblance to the faith revealed in the Bible. The faith “once delivered to the saints” is no longer even known, not only by American teenagers, but by most of their parents. Millions of Americans believe they are Christians, simply because they have some historic tie to a Christian denomination or identity.
Before I go on, I myself have never taught youth, but I am somewhat familiar with the kind of lessons used for the youth ministry. IMHO they tend to be a quick entry into big bible topics or about issues facing the life of modern teens. I have seen a class go through the Truth Project as the deepest into theology and doctrine they will likely ever go. Thus, these lesson do not tend to be anything in depth theologically, such as even reading from a baptist confession and discussing it like the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
In a way Mohler points out the problem may be in how adults are taught. I know that adult lessons tend to be moderately more in depth than youth lessons, but tend not to cover anything related to what a pastor or church leader might learn in seminary. The lessons strike me as single-use delving into the bible on a specific set of verses or general topic. It is not something that would help intellectually access the treasure trove of blogs, articles, sermons, and historical documents on the internet. Almost all of which require seminary teaching to parse.
All of that said, I arrive at the topic of this thread: Does moralistic therapeutic deism demand a change to how we educate our youth and adults?
I'll go out on a limb, since I have some training in teaching adults and youth from seminary, and say that this may require that we radically think about the current way we structure and teach lessons in adult Sunday School, Small Groups, Studies, and Life Groups. I do not know exactly what that would look like, but its curriculum would have to be more in line with what a pastor knows and what a seminary teaches than the content currently being used. I am at a loss for what to teach youth except to borrow from the literature used in Confirmation in non-Baptist denominations, and to have studies of actual confessions as part of the reading in addition to topics relevant to teenage life.
I look forward to the ideas of others.
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