Latest / The Smith and Rowland Show
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism: I Think We're in Trouble! - Ep. 981 - September 23, 2026
Can people identify as Christian, attend church, and still miss the gospel? Alan Smith and Jeff Rowland examine the beliefs sociologist Christian Smith called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, and why they believe these ideas deserve serious attention.
Drawing on Christian Smith's research into the religious lives of American teenagers, the hosts explain the five-belief pattern that shaped the term: religion centered on being good, feeling good, and treating God as distant until help is needed. They connect that pattern to a wider concern in churches today: people may know Christian language…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.