Religion Without Ritual Leads to "Moralistic Diesm," Supplanting Christianity

THE HOUSTONIAN
By Anthony Ormsbee

"The Sacrament of the Last Supper" by Salvador Dali

TEXAS---Several recent studies have been published showing that young Americans are losing faith in God. In her book “Almost Christian”, Kenda Creasy Dean, Ph.D., a Princeton theology professor and ordained United Methodist minister, said, “The faith most teenagers exhibit is a loveless version (of Christianity) that the NSYR calls Christianity’s misbegotten step cousin, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, (commonly called deism) which is supplanting Christianity as the dominant religion in American churches.” Many churches are arguing for a new type of church service removed from the ritual and christology of traditional church services, but the National Survey of Youth and Religion found that the majority of participants actually prefer a church environment that is rich in tradition, hymns, and ceremony. [link]