Now, this is a helpful term I didn’t remember from when I read Habits of the Heart in college. I think I’ll be using it for quite a while. From a reader:

Jonah-
I appreciated your abbreviated g-file on belief in God. I am a minister, so it is my business to ask people (although not necessarily public figures like you) what they think about God, beyond what they practice. In my case, however, most people don’t think I am being rude, they just think I am doing my job. I do believe that there is an unhealthy interest in what people believe, especially when you are in no position to enter into an ongoing conversation on the topic.
Now, to Sheilaism. Your disgust at people picking their favorite items off salad bar of religious belief is right-on. It is really a way of saying, “I only believe in anything, but I do pick and choose the best of everything to create a religion that fits my lifestyle.” Last time I checked, any faithful religious observance (no matter the religion or tradition) shapes one’s life, not the other way around. You are not the first to dislike or observe this phenomenon. Robert Bellah in Habits of the Heart written in the 1980’s interviewed a woman who described her religion as “Sheilaism,” which was a smattering of all the things that she thought were most true and fit her own outlook.
I thought that you might like to know the technical term and where it came from.
Peace,