Moralistic Therapeutic Deiism Essay

A growing trend in today’s society is the split from classical religious beliefs to what Dr. Christian Smith calls “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.” Dr. Smith, inquiring about this societal shift, wrote his article “On ‘Moralistic Therapeutic Deism’ a U.S. Teenagers’ Actual, Tacit, De Facto Religious Faith” by following hundreds of students to find basis of the religious beliefs amongst the youth of America. Many of these students claimed to be Catholic, but the evidence presented by Dr. Smith suggests while the students may identify as Catholic and hold some similar beliefs, their religion is drastically different and not compatible with classical Catholicism as depicted in The Compendium: Catechism of the Catholic Church. Through his research, Dr. Smith was able to form a creed of this de facto religion, which consists of 5 major points. The First is that God exists, created all things, and watches over life on the earth. Second, God wants people to treat life and each other well. Third, the main goal of life is personal happiness. Fourth, God is only directly …show more content…
Instead of working towards knowing God, Deists focus on being kind, respectful, and someone who everyone likes. This lifestyle based on moral codes produces therapeutic benefits (Smith, 48). Rather than growing through suffering, such as in Catholic life, the Deists believe that religion is essentially about feeling peaceful and good about one-self (Smith, 48). However, the desire to live a good moral life is not something Catholics would refute. Being polite, treating others with respect, and being a positive contributor to society are all values that Christians desire. For Deists, however, moral codes are at the center of life and God is an add-on, where as God is the center of life with morals to follow for