I think that today’s society has been reflected accurately by Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. MTD describes what is considered to be beliefs that are common among youths in America (Beaudoin, 2015). The current society seeks pleasure in various ways, and some opt to defend their character with what they term as the core values or beliefs of a Christian. MTD aims to reduce the differences among the various cultural groups and manifests itself more so in terms of morals (Rymarz & Cleary, 2016). It addresses uprightness, happiness, and God acknowledgement but distances God rather than placing Him close to us. It is notable that in MTD, moral judgments are open-ended, which is considered as a reflection of personal and cultural preferences. People’s behaviors are judged in regard to what they believe to be their religious beliefs.
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is a concept which is used by most youths in the current society since they have not attached themselves to a particular religion. One way of learning is through observation. In the process of growing up, our parents became a parameter of knowing what is right and what is wrong. Parents are the closest ones to teach their children morals; however, some are rebellious. Therefore, the character and behaviors of most people are dependent on how they were raised. The unruly children care less about the outcome of their actions, and in most cases, they seek comfort and joy in an approach different from how they were raised. Another example is where teens’ activities are based on personal preferences since they do not have a particular religion or culture to base their beliefs.
References
Rymarz, R., & Cleary, A. (2016). Comparing Catholic and Non-Catholic Students in Catholic Schools: Some implications for the understanding of secularization. Compass, 50(2), 9.
Beaudoin, T. (2015, June 22). Let’s Move Beyond ‘Moralistic Therapeutic Deism’. Retrieved from https://www.americamagazine.org/content/all-things/lets-move-beyond-moralistic-therapeutic-deism