Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

When Christian Smith and his fellow researchers with the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill took a close look at the religious beliefs held by American teenagers, they found that the faith held and described by most adolescents came down to something the researchers identified as “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.”
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.”
That, in sum, is the creed to which much adolescent faith can be reduced. After conducting more than 3,000 interviews with American adolescents, the researchers reported that, when it came to the most crucial questions of faith and beliefs, many adolescents responded with a shrug and “whatever.”

As a matter of fact, the researchers, whose report is summarized in Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Eyes of American Teenagers by Christian Smith with Melinda Lundquist Denton, found that American teena• -. . v ticulate about

Description
This Discussion will serve as the first of your interactions with the text and your classmates and will assist you in thinking through one of the prevailing worldviews in American culture. Christian Smith calls this “moralistic therapeutic deism.” After watching the presentation titled Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, respond to the following prompt:

  • Do you think Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is an accurate reflection of society today?
  • What are relevant examples you can provide that support your conclusion?

In your discussion, indicate to which of the points of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism you are responding throughout your post.
Review the iscussion Assignment Instructions prior to posting. You may also click the three dots in the upper corner to Show Rubric.

Post-First: This course utilizes the Post-First feature in all Discussions. This means you will only be able to read and interact with your classmates’ threads after you have submitted your thread in response to the provided prompt.