Reflections on Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD) Professor James Dalziel Dean of Education, Morling College & Professor, University of Divinity

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism “MTD” coined by Christian Smith to describe common religious beliefs among (US) teenagers 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.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism “[God is] something like a combination Divine Butler and Cosmic Therapist: he's always on call, takes care of any problems that arise, professionally helps his people to feel better about themselves, and does not become too personally involved in the process” MTD a “parasitic faith” attached to a range of religious beliefs (not just Christianity), but “Christian MTD” is a version of it Similar ideas common among adults – teenagers similar to adults in this kind of thinking about religion. For a good summary, see and articles at the end of these slides.

Why MTD? (from Adam4D) Why Moralistic Therapeutic Deism? – Moralistic: We should be good, moral people. Not born- again followers of Jesus Christ – just, you know, “Good people” – Therapeutic: The goal of this religion is to provide therapeutic benefits to its adherents. Not to worship, adore and obey the living God. God wants us to feel good about ourselves and to have high self-esteem. – Deism: God exists and created the world, but then just kinda leaves us alone until we need him to fix a problem or provide us with something.

Smith on MTD “This is not a religion of repentance from sin, of keeping the Sabbath, of living as a servant of sovereign divinity, of steadfastly saying one's prayers, of faithfully observing high holy days, of building character through suffering, of basking in God's love and grace, of spending oneself in gratitude and love for the cause of social justice, et cetera. Rather, what appears to be the actual dominant religion among U.S. teenagers is centrally about feeling good, happy, secure, at peace. It is about attaining subjective well-being, being able to resolve problems, and getting along amiably with other people.”

Mohler on MTD “This radical transformation of Christian theology and Christian belief replaces the sovereignty of God with the sovereignty of the self. In this therapeutic age, human problems are reduced to pathologies in need of a treatment plan. Sin is simply excluded from the picture, and doctrines as central as the wrath and justice of God are discarded as out of step with the times and unhelpful to the project of self- actualization.”

Mohler on MTD “religion should be centered in being "nice” – a posture that many believe is directly violated by assertions of strong theological conviction.”

Mohler on MTD “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…. We now face the challenge of evangelizing a nation that largely considers itself Christian, overwhelmingly believes in some deity, considers itself fervently religious, but has virtually no connection to historic Christianity.”

JKA Smith on MTD & practices “there can be a gap between how we act and how we think about how we act. That doesn't mean we might not be disappointed on both counts, but it should alert us that measuring what young people say is, at best (at best), only a measure of what they think…. What is really needed is the education of their loves, and that …takes practice: it takes the ethos of a community with embodied rituals and practices that inscribe virtue--not just the intellectual capacity to parse some moral dilemma, but the wants that pull us toward ends that are good… And such virtue is caught more than it is taught; it is absorbed more than it is deduced”

Kenda Dean on MTD Four problems of MTD: 1.MTD reduces Christian ethics to being nice 2.MTD is all about me and my comfort and happiness 3.MTD cannot withstand “shipwreck” 4.MTD offers few resources for hope Solutions? (for churches) – A return to robust Bible teaching – Move away from a self-focused Christian life

MTD and Christian Education Key words may mean different things to MTD students (God, heaven, sin, prayer, happiness, purpose) – Need to listen afresh to what students are really saying Exclusive religious claims (eg, Jesus is the only way) conflict with MTD ideology – MTD religion is about being “nice”; exclusivity = conflict MTD is weak on hard times (“shipwreck”) Addressing MTD is not just a cognitive issue – Encouraging acts of service (“practice”) may be key MTD is common among adults, not just students – Implications for the spiritual development of staff

MTD Resources Best general summary: – Main academic summary (better than book): – itute_for_Youth_Ministry/Princeton_Lectures/Smith-Moralistic.pdf itute_for_Youth_Ministry/Princeton_Lectures/Smith-Moralistic.pdf Kenda Dean on MTD – Albert Mohler on MTD – ht tp:// ht tp:// JKA Smith on MTD and Brooks’ “The Social Animal” –