Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD)

To this date, I have not yet made a blog post about Christianity. From now on, I hope to make that trend change. Discussing the Christian faith will serve as a fresh subject to add to the other topics on this blog—politics, history, current trends, and culture.
Back in February 2020, I made an appearance on a Lutheran radio show (i.e The Student Union) to discuss a topic that I witness on a daily basis as a college student. Even though Christianity is supposedly the predominant religion among American college students, there’s another religion that takes the crown. It’s name: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (or MTD for short). That’s a mouthful, so we’ll use the abbreviation MTD instead. Let’s begin:
 

What is MTD?

I didn’t come up with term MTD. The credit goes to a pair of sociologists who wrote a 2005 book called Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. Although the book is over 15 years old, the book’s findings are still useful for understanding the religious views of the typical American college student. What these researchers discovered is that there’s a common set of spiritual beliefs that most young Americans hold. They ended up coining the term Moralistic Therapeutic Deism to describe this belief system. What follows is a brief list of the three main tenets of MTD:

1. Moralistic—God wants us to be “moral”; he wants us to be nice to other people
2. Therapeutic: God wants us to be “happy”; he’s our therapist
3. Deism—there’s a God who created everything, but he’s not actively involved in the world

Doesn’t that all sound vaguely familiar? I’ve distinctly heard of a variation of those beliefs among my college classmates.
During my sophomore year of college, I remember having a conversation at on-campus event that my club was hosting. I started discussing religion with one of the other members of this club. He started telling me that he used to go to a Christian church when he was younger. Then, his family had some issues with the church’s pastor. As a result, he stopped going to Church as he got older. Nonetheless, he told me that he still prays and that God listens to him when he needs things. After our conversation, I realized that this guy subscribed to the MTD system. Honestly, I found it fascinating to have personally witnessed an example of this broad trend in American culture at work. Of course, I was disappointed to see someone fall away from Christianity. Nevertheless, we can use experiences like this one to better understand what’s going on in the world around us.

We can all see MTD in our own lives. We can probably think of at least one acquaintance whose religious beliefs embody the MTD creed. Generally, I have found that MTD is more common in Millennial/Gen Z generations. However, older Americans still can and do believe in the tenets of MTD. After listening to my appearance on the Student Union, my grandparents told me that even they started to notice MTD among their own friends and peers.
Now that we have looked at what MTD is, we will transition understanding the appeal of MTD.
 

The Appeal of MTD

In essence, MTD is a belief system that appeals to modern sensibilities. Deep down, we all know that mankind is inherently religious. People need to believe in something that is beyond them. However, the problem with Christianity is that it does not “fit in” with modern thinking. Modern secular society wants to believe in a “god” that does not require anything of them. Instead, they want a “god” who wants them to feel good and lets them do whatever they want. But when things go wrong, people in the MTD realm want a god who listens to their problems like a therapist. A therapist is much more tolerable to a Savior for most people. A Therapist will tell you that other people are the problem. A Savior tells us that we ourselves are the problem and that he will rescue us from our wretchedness. The contrast in where humanity’s problems lie is at the heart of the contrast between Christinaity and MTD.
What’s interesting is that MTD is not an organized religion. You can’t go looking for a local MTD congregation in the phonebook. Here’s a better framework to understand MTD: think of MTD as the primary civil religion among young Americans. MTD is not purely a standalone belief system. It has definitely infiltrated many American churches—especially many churches in the “seeker-sensitive” or “emergent church” movements. So, MTD is not only confined to college campuses.
Certainly, there’s a good reason MTD has gotten popular among young American while Christianity has not. Here’s that reason: the god of MTD fits in with the self-centered lifestyle of modern America.

“A God who tells me what to do, no way! God wants me to feel good and do whatever I want!” cries out the urbanite Millennial.  This belief system fits in line with the “spiritual but not religious” crowd—which is much more common among Americans under age forty. Consequently, college campuses have become a center of MTD.


An Example

To hammer away this idea, I’ll point out an example from pop culture that sums up MTD. Let me be clear: I do not watch The Bachelorette! I just happened to find a news article that fit the bill for this topic. In 2019, The Bachelorette contestant Hannah Brown caused a stir when she told one of her potential suitors that “I have had sex ... and Jesus still loves me.” Now, I am not here to cast stones on this lady. Instead, I’m just using her as an example. She just exhibits the standard attitude of many young adults who self-identify as Christians. “’God’ wants me to be happy. He does not care about what I do as long as I don’t “hurt” anyone.” Even many Christians have unknowingly adopted the standards of MTD—even when they are at odds with Holy Scriptures and Christian teachings.


Remaining Thoughts

I made this blog post because I don’t want young Christians to be blind. In my mind, walking into college blind is a recipe for disaster. Christians need to know what they are going to experience on a college campus. College is not the same as it was for your parents and grandparents. Life on college campuses have changed drastically—especially the religious beliefs of college students. MTD is a prominent part of the college experience. Nevertheless, Christian college students have a golden opportunity to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ by understanding the general religious views of their fellow classmates.
If there’s one thing to remember from this post, it’s this: Jesus Christ isn’t our therapist; he’s our Savior!

Link to my radio appearance:
https://www.kfuo.org/2020/02/26/student-union-022620-predominant-religion-on-college-campuses/

Link to the Bachelorette article:
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/06/748049915/i-have-had-sex-and-jesus-still-loves-me-bachelorette-stands-firm-in-her-faith

 
by is licensed under