How To Kill A Church

The charismatic Father talks about how there needs to be an app that allows young people to pull a little of this from feminist theology, a little of that from queer theology, and so forth, and make them “feel that they have an authentic spirituality that connects them to the divine.” Notice what makes it “authentic” is not whether or not it’s true, but about whether it feels right to them. The app will provide answers when the seeker asks, “This is what I’m feeling, where does God fit into all this?”

This is Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, in a line. The sociologist Robert Bellah got there as far back as 1985, calling this kind of thing “Sheilaism”, after a nurse his team interviewed, who described her faith like this:

“I believe in God. I’m not a religious fanatic. I can’t remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. It’s Sheilaism. Just my own little voice … It’s just try to love yourself and be gentle with yourself. You know, I guess, take care of each other. I think He would want us to take care of each other.”