Age of Faith God governed the universe. “Knowledge was divine light infused into man by God.” -Augustine

Age of Reason Knowledge not of divine origin, discovered naturally Natural law works without God The idea of a spiritual universe is replaced by the idea of the world as a machine

Worldview as glasses...  Pair of glasses that filters what you see  Some elements are in focus  Some elements are blurry  Some disappear completely

What is a worldview? ReligiousNonreligious

Religious  Allows or embraces supernatural concepts of the general order of existence  Important throughout recorded history  Universal spirit, god, deity  Established moral order that can be known  People have duty to follow moral dictates  Human conduct has significance beyond death

Nonreligious  In general, a nonreligious worldview is absent supernatural interpretations.  A nonreligious framework for human living is void of any divine entity or deity’s involvement in human life or of considerations of existence after death. Perspectives on morality are naturalistic.

“ A worldview consists of basic assumptions and images that provide a more or less coherent though not necessarily accurate, way of thinking about the world.”...

More than culture...  A.F.C. Wallace (1970) noted, “ A worldview is the very skeleton of concrete cognitive assumptions on which the flesh of customary behavior is hung.”

Developing a worldview  Takes shape over time  Based upon experiences and surroundings  Family has powerful influence in formative years  Media has growing influence in present culture