{"id":134,"date":"2021-04-27T15:00:20","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T15:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acuwebstaging.com\/culturalresearchcenter\/2021\/04\/27\/counterfeit-christianity-moralistic-therapeutic-deism-most-popular-worldview-in-u-s-culture\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T17:42:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T17:42:08","slug":"counterfeit-christianity-moralistic-therapeutic-deism-most-popular-worldview-in-u-s-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azcu.edu\/culturalresearchcenter\/2021\/04\/27\/counterfeit-christianity-moralistic-therapeutic-deism-most-popular-worldview-in-u-s-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Counterfeit Christianity: \u2018Moralistic Therapeutic Deism\u2019 Most Popular Worldview in U.S. Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY CRC Staff
\n<\/em>From the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University<\/strong><\/p>\n

A popular \u201cfake\u201d form of Christianity\u2014Moralistic Therapeutic Deism\u2014was discovered to be profoundly influencing Christian teenagers in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n

Now a groundbreaking new study from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University shows that as adults, the under-50 generation still embraces the Moralistic Therapeutic Deism of their formative years.<\/p>\n

But what was once a rogue belief system that characterized Christian teen culture now permeates both American culture and the Christian church, making Moralistic Therapeutic Deism the most popular worldview in the United States today.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s not good news for America.<\/p>\n

As Arizona Christian University President Len Munsil noted, \u201cAs a nation, the biblical worldview is running on fumes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Munsil explained, \u201cPeople see themselves as Christians, but these findings show they are actually living out a watered-down, counterfeit worldview that looks more like the culture around them than the biblical Christianity they profess.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Munsil, \u201cThis report is another powerful reminder of the importance of biblical worldview training\u2014at every stage of life. Wrong views about what it means to be a Christian learned in the teen years can still define worldview for adults.\u201d<\/p>\n

New findings from the American Worldview Inventory 2021 <\/em>show that nearly four of 10 adults (38%) are more likely to embrace elements of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism than other popular worldviews, including Biblical Theism (or the biblical worldview), Secular Humanism, Postmodernism, Nihilism, Marxism (along with its offshoot, Critical Theory) and Eastern Mysticism (or \u201cNew Age\u201d).<\/p>\n

According to Dr. George Barna, CRC Director of Research and author of the AWVI 2021<\/em>, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism\u2014which he describes as \u201cfake Christianity\u201d\u2014is a worldview that is defined and driven by current culture more than by historic religious truths or a comprehensive and coherent doctrine.<\/p>\n

As Barna explained, \u201cConsequently, this approach to spirituality asks little of its followers while providing the comfort, convenience, and community they long for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (or MTD) was initially identified and named by sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton in their book, Soul Searching<\/em>, published in 2005. It was based on national research among the teenagers of the turn of the millennium. At that time Smith and Denton identified several core beliefs that characterized the thinking and behavior of the group. Those components included:<\/p>\n