Author: More teens becoming 'fake' Christians
"[Kenda Creasy Dean, United Methodist Church minister,] says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls 'moralistic therapeutic deism.' Translation: It's a watered-down faith that portrays God as a "divine therapist" whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/27/almost.christian/index.html
This article emphasizes that parents are responsible for teaching their children who God is -- in other words what we as Christians believe and why. The lack of this teaching can lead teenagers to have the wrong concept of the God and the Church. Hence some teenagers fall into a watered-down version of Christianity (Catholic or Protestant).
"The study included Christians of all stripes -- from Catholics to Protestants of both conservative and liberal denominations. Though three out of four American teenagers claim to be Christian, fewer than half practice their faith, only half deem it important, and most can't talk coherently about their beliefs, the study found.
Many teenagers thought that God simply wanted them to feel good and do good -- what the study's researchers called 'moralistic therapeutic deism.'"
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/27/almost.christian/index.html
This makes sense since we as parents must teach our children values, morals, norms (ideology accepted in a society), freedom to question authority and society (especially) and most importantly our faith in God.
