The majority of American teens have embraced an informal, "feel good" view of God and religion that not only emphasizes personal happiness as the central goal of life but has become something of a new religion in and of itself.

That is according to researchers examining teens over an 11-year time span as part of the National Study of Youth and Religion. In explaining the study's findings on Friday, Holli M.H. Eaton of Azusa Pacific University told members of the Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists that the "feel good" view of faith has five identifiable characteristics and has been dubbed "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism."

Its "tenets" are as follows:

• There is a God who created human life and watches over human beings.
  
  
• God wants people to be kind, caring and good.
  
  
• The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about one's self.
  
  
• God doesn't need to be involved in one's life except when needed to solve a problem -- "kind of a heavenly butler."
  
  
• Good people go to heaven when they die.
  

Beyond these generalizations, teens in general "can't verbalize the basics of their faith," Eaton said, noting there are exceptions but that the majority are unable to do so.

"When you ask about grace, they automatically think you're talking about 'Will and Grace,"' a TV sitcom that is popular with teens and young adults. "When you talk about honor (in religious terms), they think of honors classes at school."

When hundreds of teens were interviewed at length about the principles of their faith, none mentioned self-discipline, "but feeling happy was mentioned more than 2,000 times," Eaton said.

"Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is a new religion in researchers' view. It's taking over in kids' lives."

The study, conducted by sociologist Christian Smith, began in 2000 based out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Smith addressed students and faculty at Brigham Young University earlier this year to share his findings, which also include data showing that LDS teens are the most highly religious by denomination of all the groups in the study, with 71 percent saying they attend a religious service at least once a week.

While Latter-day Saint teens see their faith as central to their lives, the majority of American teens see it as highly dispensable, Eaton said. "It's the first thing many teens are willing to let go when there are competing demands in their lives," she said. "Nearly all American youth are profoundly individualistic, and they think that 'what I think is right is right for everybody."'

She said most share the view that "it's okay to be somewhat religious, but it's important not to be too religious. They don't want to talk about specific beliefs. That's too religious," she said.

"Most teens say they pray, but it's usually when they want something. Very few read the Bible and even fewer engage in other religious practices."

Marilyn S. Wright, a psychologist at Pepperdine University, said the vast majority of teens are "incredibly inarticulate" about their own faith, even as they mature into young adults. The initial survey of more than 3,300 teens in 2000 has been followed by subsequent phases of questioning for 10 percent of those studied, and age doesn't change the ability to express their feelings about faith, she said.

Yet teens whose parents put religion at the center of their lives differ from the overall survey group in significant ways, mirroring the religious attitudes and practices of their parents, she said -- something that is encouraging to parents who often believe peer influence is more powerful.

She said LDS teens are "more involved in youth groups for more years and are more likely to claim to be youth leaders in their groups" than other teens. The survey also showed LDS teens are "the most Bible-believing and the least likely to believe in the occult."

E-mail: carrie@desnews.com