cafeteria Christianity
- noun
- /ˌkæfəˈtɪəriə ˌkrɪs.tʃən.ɪ.ti/
- Literature
:
cristianismo de cafetería
- Her approach to faith has been labeled cafeteria Christianity because she disagrees with certain doctrines.
Examples
-
Many people criticize cafeteria Christianity for contradicting the church's teachings.
-
Debates over cafeteria Christianity often arise in discussions about modern religious practice.
-
Many people practice cafeteria Christianity today.
-
Is cafeteria Christianity really a valid form of faith?
-
Many people criticize cafeteria Christianity for selectively choosing which beliefs to follow.
-
Her approach to faith reflects a style of cafeteria Christianity, emphasizing personal interpretation over traditional doctrine.
-
Debates about cafeteria Christianity highlight the tension between individual beliefs and established church teachings.
Surface Forms
Morphology
cafeteria + Christianity
The noun 'cafeteria' readily evokes a context of selecting items and when combined with 'Christianity' signals a pick-and-choose approach to beliefs, so a learner who knows both words can often infer the general idea. However, this is a metaphorical extension (and carries a subtle evaluative/pejorative nuance) rather than a literal compositional meaning, so the exact sense may not be fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Cafeteria Christianity comes from the image of a cafeteria where you walk along and pick only the food you like. So it describes people who 'pick and choose' Christian beliefs they agree with instead of following all the church's teachings.
