The god of American Christianity

October 2, 2:49 PMMethodist ExaminerJames-Michael Smith

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Christianity Today (October 2009) cover illustration - John Hendrix

In the latest issue of the evangelical magazine "Christianity Today", Mark Galli has written a brilliant article on the current state of fragmentation among evangelicals and what is needed in order for the Gospel to flourish in our current Christian climate. 

While the whole article is well worth reading, one point Galli makes is worth mentioning in particular.  He cites a number of studies and surveys which give the current religious climate in America and concludes with the following:

Many other studies say the same thing, but the most important is Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton's Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. Published in 2005, it is already a classic. Smith and Denton conducted extensive interviews with 267 American teenagers, and concluded that a new religion had emerged in America whose chief tenets are as follows:
 

* A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth.

* God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.

* The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.

* God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.

* Good people go to heaven when they die.

Smith and Denton noticed that this "de facto creed" was particularly prominent among mainline Protestant and Catholic teenagers, "but is also visible among black and conservative Protestants."

Since the authors found that this faith is learned from parents, they conclude, "We have come with some confidence to believe that a significant part of Christianity in the United States is actually only tenuously Christian in any sense that is seriously connected to the actual historical Christian tradition, but has rather substantially morphed into Christianity's misbegotten step-cousin, Christian Moralistic Therapeutic Deism."
 

This analysis resonates deeply with American evangelical church and parachurch leaders. While Smith and Denton intended to describe the state of teenage faith, they seem to have described large segments of evangelical faith.

Christian Moralistic Therapeutic Deism - has there ever been a better title for the civil religion adhered to by the general North American Judeo-Christian culture?  The Bill O'Reilly's as well as the Jesse Jacksons of the country would likely applaud this type of faith. 

But is this what the Christian faith consists of?  Not by miles!   To be sure, there are kernels of truth among the above-listed beliefs so prevalent in our society.  But as a whole, this is most definitely not indicative of the message of Jesus, nor is it consistent with the message of Scripture as a whole.  Perhaps an S.A.T. comparison may help illustrate a little more clearly:

Christian Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (aka. civil religion) : authentic Christian faith ::
McDonald's Happy Meal : well-balanced child nutrition. 

And like Happy Meals, it seems that generations of Americans have grown up on a steady diet of civil religion.  Sadly, this seems to be the case for many who identify themselves as Christian.  Are you one of them?  Am I?  The answer to that question is crucial for anyone attempting to engage their surrounding culture with the gospel of Jesus of Nazareth.