Archbishop Charles J. Chaput warned that many contemporary Christians have reduced their faith to a convenient "form of paganism," which cannot compete with the widespread "idolatry" of modern consumer culture.

"The main crisis of modern Christianity is not one of resources, or personnel, or marketing, It is a crisis of faith. Millions of people claim to be Christian, but they don't really believe."

They don't study Scripture. They don't love the Church as a mother and teacher. And they settle for an inoffensive, vanilla Christianity... This is self-delusion, the worst kind of phony Christianity that has no power to create hope out of suffering, to resist persecution, or to lead anyone else to God."

"There are no real atheists in America – quite the opposite, We have a thriving free market of little gods to worship. Sex and technology have very large congregations."　

"The Christian remedy to these idolatries, can never simply be coerced from the outside, by stronger statements from stronger bishops."  He quoted Cardinal Lustiger's insight that these forms of idolatry "must be exorcised from the inside" To uproot them, we must be converted in depth"