On Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

DefCon has made reference to Christian Smith’s work on Moralistic Therapeutic Deism in the past, and I recently came across an article written in 2005 by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he explored the implications of this theme in a well written and thoughtful article at The Christian Post.

In the article Mohler observed:

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 oneself.” 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.”

Most mature believers can easily conjure up images, and perhaps not-so-fond memories of numerous professing Christians, including clergy, who espouse precisely this type of worldview, who for all practical purposes live their lives by, and teach others to uphold, the one true ”Golden Rule”: Be Nice.

My intent in linking to Mohler’s article, as well as Christian Smith’s original work, is to help familiarize those who may have sensed this phenomenon, but have never quite put their finger on what’s wrong with it.

While Smith’s original work points out, and I think importantly, that Moralistic Therapeutic Deism infects multiple “faith traditions” including Judaism, Mormonism, Islam, and atheism [yes, atheism is a faith tradition] in addition to Christianity, the focus of my emphasis shall be upon the latter.

When one examines the broader professing church the incorporation of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism into its overall framework is breathtaking.  And while anecdotal evidence is helpful, Smith’s original work goes beyond casual observation into statistical verification.  His conclusion?  A totally separate, alien, and parasitic “faith tradition” has infiltrated the common consciousness of various ostensibly Christian faith traditions almost invisibly co-opting and neutralizing their distinctives while quietly but inexorably moving their collective worldviews toward the 5 Pillars of MTD.

1. “A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.”  This bare perspective left to itself apart from the One true and living God’s self-expression as it is contained uniquely within the 66 books of the Holy Bible is quintessential deism.  From Wiki: Deism (pronounced /ˈdiːɪzəm/, us dict: dē′·ĭzm) is a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme being created the universe, and that this (and religious truth in general) can be determined using reason and observation of the natural world alone, without the need for either faith or organized religion. Many Deists reject the notion that God intervenes in human affairs, for example through miracles and revelations. These views contrast with the dependence on revelations, miracles, and faith found in many Jewish, Christian, Islamic and other theistic teachings. Deists typically reject most supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and tend to assert that God (or “The Supreme Architect”) has a plan for the universe that is not altered either by God intervening in the affairs of human life or by suspending the natural laws of the universe. What organized religions see as divine revelation and holy books, most deists see as interpretations made by other humans, rather than as authoritative sources.  Clearly not all MTD adherents would deny the miraculous, in fact in some cases they would even anticipate that the god of MTD might intervene in their own personal affairs and lives from time to time, particularly when they ask for help.
2.  “God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.”  Moving from the abstract concept of the supreme being, the next logical step for the functional Moralistic Therapeutic Deist is to put his faith into action by good works.  The god of MTD is a great and good and loving god, and therefore the “Golden Rule”: Be Nice, is the one inviolable moral truth.  Obviously the definition and level of niceness varies from person to person, but after all, it’s the thought that really counts, right?
3. “The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.”  Because the great and good and loving god of MTD wants us to “Be Nice” to others, it only stands to reason that we should also “Be Nice” to ourselves.  If we’re not nice to ourselves, we can’t rightly be nice to others, now can we?  It’s important to practice what we preach, so we deserve to be happy and to feel good about ourselves so that we can be our very best, which can only lead to a positive outlook and a “nice” disposition towards others.  In fact if we’re very good at being “nice” to ourselves by being happy and feeling good, then we can point other less mature people in the right direction by helping them learn how to put into practice the happy feel-good techniques that work so well for us, so that they might also self-actualize and improve their self-esteem.  Be your best you!  You’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, god loves you!  Shouldn’t that kind of wonderful news put a spring in your step and a smile on your face?  Of course it should!  So smile, god loves you and he has a wonderful plan for your life!
4. “God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.”  god is always there, when you need him, all you have to do is ask.  god gave you a brain, common sense and reason to find your way through the world, but when things get really bad, or seem hopeless, or you’re feeling really bummed out, or frightened you can call on god for comfort.  god doesn’t want you to feel bad, and it’s never his will for bad things to happen.  Bad things are always from the devil.  Sometimes just talking to god will make you feel better.  He’s a lot like your bff, only way, way better, smarter and nicer!  Try prayer, it works!
5.  ”Good people go to heaven when they die.”  The sad fact is that everyone dies.  After all, the Bible says that even Jesus died, right?  And He was a really, really good man, probably the best person who ever lived.  But along with its other teachings MTD necessarily assures us that all good, nice, moral people go to heaven to be with Jesus when they die, even people who we might not think are very nice, good, or moral because god is love, and hell sounds really bad, awful actually.  What kind of loving god would ever send his helpless, beloved creatures to a place where they burn forever?   That doesn’t sound like the god of MTD at all.  Plus when’s the last time you ever attended the funeral of someone who died and went to hell?  The preacher/priest or whoever conducts the service, as well as those who eulogize the deceased, uniformly assure all in attendance that the dearly departed is rejoicing in heaven in the presence of god and his angels; and well…let’s face it…uncle Walt really wasn’t that nice…so if he’s in, I’m in because…well…let’s face it…I’m a much nicer and more moral person than uncle Walt was.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? 

It should because in all likelihood MTD is quite likely the de facto faith of many – if not most – of your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, fellow churchgoers, and even pastors whether you – or they – know it or not.  My suggestion is that you familiarize yourself with the contents and concepts of MTD and prayerfully, carefully, and lovingly disabuse the MTD adherents within your sphere of influence of their defective, demonic faith.  The aberrant beliefs of MTD are little different in character from the aberrant beliefs of the cults, yet in both form and function its effects are much more subtle and sinister because, not unlike an invading virus, MTD infects from within as opposed to manifesting itself as a recognizable stand-alone organism or organization.

And while we know that hearts and minds are only changed by the power of the Holy Spirit, we also know that the One true and living God’s Word promises that His Word will not return void, and that it will in fact accomplish all His holy will.  Furthermore we know that His will is for His Word to be faithfully proclaimed by the foolishness of the preaching of the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation for all those who believe.  Let’s trust in His own unfailing faithfulness to His Word, and boldly go forth armed with the Truth of Jesus Christ crucified, dead, buried and resurrected on the third day offering the free gift of salvation and eternal life to those who believe in accordance with the scriptures.