Kenda Creasy Dean has an interesting article in The Christian Century that explores some of the concepts of her book “Almost Christian“. A few bits…
This faith, called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, “generally does not and cannot stand on its own,” so its adherents are affiliated with traditional faith communities but unaware that they are practicing a very different faith than historic orthodox Christianity. If teenagers wrote out the creed of this religious outlook, it would look something like this:
• A god exists who created and orders the world and watches over life on earth.
• God wants people to be good, nice and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
• The central goal of life is to be happy and feel good about yourself.
• God is not involved in my life except when I need God to solve a problem.
• Good people go to heaven when they die.
She goes on to later say…
Churches in which young people exhibit highly devoted faith look and act differently than those colonized by MTD. Structurally, they are more likely to have full-time youth ministers, a variety of programs for teenagers and opportunities for youth to participate in religious practice and leadership. But the differences are theological as well. According to the Exemplary Youth Ministry study (a national study of congregations in seven denominations funded by the Lilly Foundation and completed in 2003), these congregations are also more likely to:
• portray God as living, present and active
• place a high value on scripture
• explain their church’s mission, practices and relationships as inspired by “the life and mission of Jesus Christ”
• emphasize spiritual growth, discipleship and vocation
• promote outreach and mission
• help teens develop “a positive, hopeful spirit,” “live out a life of service” and “live a Christian moral life”
It is worth reading the whole article!
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