happy-clappy
adj.— «Equally, he will need to go out of his way to reassure people that he is not trying to create a thoroughly evangelical Church where everyone worships in a “happy-clappy” way.» —“Profile of the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury” Independent (London, United Kingdom) Mar. 20, 1991. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A mangle is an old device for squeezing water from laundry. In 19th-century England, this word figured in the discourteous catchphrase Has your mother sold her mangle? The question implies that the person addressed has to make ends meet by selling...
A listener in Lorain, Ohio, wonders about the origin of the terms happy and happiness. Both come from an older word hap, meaning “chance” or “luck,” also the source of happen, mishap, hapless, happenstance, happy-go-lucky, and perhaps. Language...