Hidden Worldviews: Eight Cultural Stories That Shape Our Lives

by Steve Wilkens, Mark L. Sanford

Why do we buy what we buy, vote the way we vote, eat what we eat and say what we say? Why do we have the friends we have, and work and play as we do? It's our choice? Yes, but there are forces, often unseen, that shape every decision we make and every action we take. These hidden, life-shaping values and ideas are not promoted through organized religions or rival philosophies but fostered by cultural habits, lifestyles and the institutional structures of society. Steve Wilkens and Mark Sanford shine a spotlight on the profound challenges to Christianity and faithful Christian living that come from worldviews that comprise the cultural soup we swim in. The authors show how to detect the individualism, consumerism, nationalism, moral relativism, scientific naturalism, New Age thinking, postmodern tribalism and salvation as therapy that fly under our radar. Building on the work of worldview thinkers like James Sire, this book helps those committed to the gospel story recognize those rival cultural stories that compete for our hearts and minds.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Theology, Cultural, Christianity, Politics

218 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 2009

Reviews

[Jared Totten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hidden Worldviews is not your average book addressing worldviews. There are no chapters on nihilism, existentialism, or Eastern monism (though a nod is made to The Universe Next Door, and James Sire even writes a blurb for the back of the book, calling Hidden Worldviews "an excellent compliment" to his own standard work).



Unlike most other writers addressing worldviews, authors Steve Wilkens and Mark L. Sanford deal with what they call "lived worldviews". These lived worldviews include such ideas as individualism, consumerism, nationalism, moral relativism and salvation by therapy. They are so called because "we are more likely to absorb them through cultural contact than adopt them through a rational evaluation of competing theories. These lived worldviews are popular philosophies of life that have few intellectual proponents but vast numbers of practitioners".



Because of the subtle nature of these ideas, Wilkens and Sanford suggest that there is a greater risk of such ideas being smuggled into and blended with Christianity almost unknowingly. Indeed, to the extent that the traditional worldviews pose a challenge externally to Christianity, these worldviews seem to be a challenge within Christianity as well as without.



Every chapter deals with a specific lived worldview and details both the truth or good as well as potential problems of each worldview before drawing a conclusion. In this manner, the authors present a very even-handed treatment of each idea without sounding alarmist or too "Chicken Little".



If I have had one frustration that keeps popping up during this first year of setting a significant reading goal for myself, it has been that, as the writer of Ecclesiastes would say, "there is nothing new under the sun". However, this book was an exception, a very refreshing read and quite unique in it's approach and subject matter. Overall, it was a very readable and enjoyable book, and one of my top ten for the year!

[Line Sand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It looks into worldviews that offer competing stories to the Christian one, and asks questions such as “Who gets to be God in this story?” Its main claim is, that every worldview in its essence deals with the topic of salvation. What narrative do we employ in our attempt to fix what is wrong with the world? It offers thorough explorations of worldviews such as Individualism, Consumerism, New Age, Salvation by Therapy, Scientific Naturalism and so on, and seeks to show how each of these worldviews contains parts of truth but end up falling short compared to the Christian one, because they put something else besides God in charge of salvation.

[Dawn Dishman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This is a great book that really impacted me and taught me about the world we are living in today. Just looking at some of the chapter titles are convicting.

1. Individualism: I am the center of the universe
2. Consumerism: I am what I own
3. Nationalism: My nation, under God
4. Moral Relativism: The Absolute truth about relativism and something like relativism
5. Scientific Naturalism: Only matter matters
6. The New Age: Are we gods or are we God’s?
7. Postmodern Tribalism: My tribe/my worldview
8. Salvation by Therapy: Not as good as it gets

The authors point out the hidden world-views permeating our culture and influencing us today. I look around and am concerned about our culture wars and division, but this book explained the reasons behind so much of it.
It also helped me recognize where I am being caught up in world-views that I would have not realized because of their subtlety.

I highly recommend this book and to read it with humility and compassion. We all are shaped by the prevailing thought of our time and it is good to see how these world views presented are forming our culture, and us individually.

[Bailey A · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a lot of good ideas, however, as a text for a class, I was just not into it and found it hard to care too much. Also, there are almost no footnotes, references, or bibliography for this book which was a huge turn-off seeing as it's a book about various religions and worldviews written by two Christian men.

[Charley Hellums · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this for class. Not my favorite. The author kinda seemed like a self righteous prick (no offense). Specifically in ch8. When he’s essentially complaining that as a straight white Christian man from America he’s excluded from other peoples cultural groups and that made him sad and feel left out. Because of this I found it hard to read his book and find him credible because he wasn’t acknowledging why certain cultural “tribes” exist and it’s mainly because of his demographic excluding these people from everyday life and activities for centuries. People of color, LGBTQIA+, women, you name it they’ve been excluded from what straight white Christian males have had the privilege of experiencing for centuries.

[Todd Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good worldview book. Rather than take the more abstract approach (any worldview assessment book is going to be a bit abstract by necessity), this book strove to look at the way people actually live their lives. So you get postmodern tribalism, consumerism, etc. assessment. I also liked the narrative approach to the Christian worldview that the authors advocated.

[Lucas Nosal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was debating between giving this book a 3 or a 4 star. I think the book does a decent job of introducing “hidden worldviews”, worldviews that we might not know by name, but are very prevalent in our culture. Things like individualism, consumerism, naturalism, etc. There are better books out there on the subject, though I still appreciated this one. It might be nice to do a study through wash of the worldviews and offer biblical critiques of them. The reason I went with a 4 star was that I found the critiques given in the book weren’t very thorough and weren’t as Biblical as I would have liked. It also seemed anti-reformed in its presentation of the Christian worldview.

[Tessa Holderman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for my Christianity and culture class and found it to lack depth. I think the bias of the authors was clear throughout the book and therefore it was difficult for me to read without having that as a distraction. I wish they would have considered a more nuanced approach to worldviews because I fundamentally disagree with the suggestion that someone can only have one worldview. I think people are far more complex

[Audrey Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had good ideas but nothing really “sunk in”

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tackles a ton of topics often left unmentioned or largely ignored in typical Christian worldview analyses. Some of these lesser trod paths include individualism, consumerism, nationalism, and salvation by therapy. The breadth is enormously helpful and worth the price of admission. What's annoying is when Wilkens and Sanford note "Positive Elements of X" (e.g. moral relativism) and then only counter said false ideology with "Potential Problems with X". It's as if they don't believe the Christian faith is true and therefore true as well as good and beautiful. Let me tell you some about some "Potential Problems with Cowardice". Relativism can't carry love, justice or truth three feet. That's not a potential flaw. If it weren't for the lame handwringing, I'd have given the book five stars.

[Del · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hidden Worldviews is a book that covers several different worldviews from a Christian perspective. It breaks each worldview down and examines it, stating what is good about it and trying to show where the worldviews fall short. I know so much more about individualism, consumerism, post modernism, new age thought and psychology because of this book. Something I found really cool is that, although the book is written from a Christian perspective, it breaks down Christianity and explains it as a worldview as well. It actually answered so many questions that I had about my own faith, regarding the fall, and humanity's redemption, and it helped me understand that living with a Christian worldview is about having faith. At the end of the day, I can't give concrete evidence that Christianity is the correct worldview. I can only reason that it is the worldview that makes the most sense.

[Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

read for a class. didn't enjoy at all. too repetitive and complicated.

[Rakeela Windrider · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a stressful and difficult read. I came away with the sentiment that Christianity impairs the empathetic capabilities of its adherents. This guy is clearly trying to understand ideals other than his own, but he generally mangles them, understating the virtues of people he disagrees with in injurious ways. He falls back on odious traditions wrought from a history of violence...

Page 205, "Without such a God, it is difficult to understand why anyone would expect the world to improve." This is a very brief quotation that exemplifies the problem. He's obviously an idealistic person, but he has only a shallow, biased understanding the virtues that arise in non-Christian thinking.

He asserts in chapter 9 that a morally bankrupt person might be considered psychologically healthy. I consider this an example of the impaired empathy with which he approaches non-Christian paradigms. Psychologists are rarely so bereft of ideals that they would certify a villain as truly healthy in mind. This links to some of the stuff he criticizes in naturalism, too. He comes off as lacking an acquaintance with utilitarianism. Analysis can produce virtue by evaluating end products, because in fact virtuous ends are not amply supported by unvirtuous means.

The most mangled ideology under his gentle touch was individualism. He proposes "expressive individualism" as a pure movement of rebellion, ignoring that independent creators also create independent communities. As I wrote repeatedly in my own notes, "People expressing their own individual nature also express their own individual need for others." Furthermore, he gives no indication of recognizing that expressive individualists pursue ideals. He accuses people of selfishness when what has happened is that he has not recognized idealism operating beyond his own traditions.

[Philip Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

For what it was, this book was excellent.

I say this despite the fact I would quibble with a bit of a the book theologically. Wilkens and Sandford don't share my reformed convictions. I thought their discussion of the creation mandate could really have benefited from reading some Kline. I think their understanding of Nestorianism was a bit confused. etc etc.

Also, the book didn't have tonnes of footnotes, which—at the very least— some books that deal in this kind of content should have.

So with all that in mind, I loved this. 1) I love the way it was framed. The ideas they interact with are not necessarily "out there" but frequently function as nameless assumptions that many believers unintentionally hold that compromise the structural integrity of their Christian mindset. 2) I loved its readability. I read it while I was dog tired on a plane ride and it was very doable. Some should do a deeper dive than this, but I feel like every Christian could and should read this or something like it. It gives you the lay of the land well, and sets you up to be able to look at individual trees in the forest as you so desire. 3) The internal critiques of each worldview were really good. The explanation of origins, how they relate to other previous religious/philosophical ideas, the honing in on and appreciation of the kernels of truth in each, were both effective and fair. And ultimately, I think the authors convincingly showed their reductionistic nature and how they collapse under their own weight. 4) It felt timely. This came came out in 2009 and I feel like the church would be in far better shape if we had all read this back then. Many of the takes in this book felt fresh and relevant. I especially like the chapters on scientific naturalism, the new age, post modernism tribalism, and salvation by therapy.

[Lorelai Westerlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as a textbook for my apologetics class. I really enjoyed how the authors write and their ideas upon each of the world views that they speak of. One of the biggest things I appreciated is the line they drew between convictional and confessional beliefs, also known as what you practice and what you think and where they mix.
Each of the chapters of this book are filled with knowledge. However, it is not pushed up against scripture, even though it’s through a Christian lens.
This book is a really good book to read slowly and reflect and have your Bible open next to it as you go back-and-forth and think about how you can minister to these world views and how to rid them from yourself.
The authors talk about each of these world these as if they’re on a sliding scale, where if you cross a certain line you fall into it. However, they do not make it clear where that line is they just tell you that it’s there and you have to find it.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it for educational purposes, but I would not base ministry on the way that the authors defined the sliding scale.

[Mark Ciminello · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a Christian and a conservative, you want this book. It helps you to understand how the rest of the world thinks (i.e., Worldviews). Hidden Worldviews: Eight Cultural Stories That Shape Our Lives by Steve Wilkens is an eye-opening, quietly provocative exploration of the cultural narratives we absorb without ever realizing it. Wilkens acts almost like a gentle guide with a flashlight, illuminating the stories—individualism, consumerism, scientific naturalism, and more—that subtly steer our thinking, priorities, and faith. The book doesn’t scold; it invites, encouraging readers to slow down, question assumptions, and examine the lenses through which they see the world. Wilkens blends clarity, scholarship, and pastoral warmth, offering a thoughtful framework that helps believers discern between the gospel and the cultural currents that compete with it. It’s a reflective, grounding read that lingers long after the final chapter, reshaping how readers understand both themselves and their surroundings.

[Elaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a textbook for a religious class. This book is horrific. It's full of Christian apologetics that sets out to demonize (see what I did there) the world in order to validate its existence. You might assume that "Worldviews" means a book about various religions being placed on an equal pedestal with one another, allowing us to take a good look at all of them, but that's not what you're getting.

The worst chapter for me had to be the one where they tried to say that therapy is touted as a form of salvation and subverting the true Christian narrative. If your entire scope of "therapy" is constrained within archaic paradigms of clinical psychology that denounce religion as delusion, then yes, you have a point. But to say that a person should speak with a religious leader rather than a therapist/counselor because you should keep such things within the church is without merit. This book made me angry, and I want very badly to forget it ever existed.

[Nicholas A. Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Faith in Jesus' redemptive work should touch and transform every aspect of life. God's story should rewrite our individual stories in such a way that our identities, convictions, values and actions are in sync with God's will.” (pg. 197)

A unique worldview book discussing not the common topics of Marxism, Islam, or Humanism. Yet discusses very common, but rarely discussed worldviews like Individualism, Postmodern Tribalism, and “Salvation by Therapy”. A very interesting book to say the least.

[Nathan Shumate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good rundown of eight worldview paradigms which are all around us in American culture, considered from a Christian standpoint ("considered" meaning that good AND bad points are discussed). My biggest disagreements are probably with their section on nationalism, as I see a strong trend in American nationalism specifically which advocates for loyalty to principle rather than a specific geography or ethnicity... but a full discussion of that might end up as a blog post someday.

[Anthony Locke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful, particularly for preachers who are looking to do cultural or apologetic side bars in their sermons. I thought Wilkens was fair in his appraisal of different worldviews - acknowledging some of the common grace benefits for society and even believers but firmly exposing them as reductionistic and empty.

[Chris Wilder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is insightful and beneficial for many reasons but two in particular. First it deals with worldviews that are practical and common not merely abstract. Second, Wilkens does a great job exploring not just the negatives of a worldview but also the strengths which helps create ways of creating common ground with people.

[Kevin Reeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does a good job of critiquing major world views or people and identifying positive and negative in these examples. Good critical thinking process to determine what your individual view is and how do you get there.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to understand how to relate with and minister to the Western world, specifically the American culture, this book if for you. It studies the core postmodern worldviews that are evident in everyday life just outside of your doorstep, and, most likely, inside of your own home.

[Madj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read this for an honors class and found it mostly boring but at the same slightly interesting. The interesting thing about it would be how the different worldviews make people think, and just how many things we don’t realize are actually worldviews.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book exposing worldviews people don't even realize they have.

[Natalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a book I had to read for a college course. Despite that, the book was thought provoking and enjoyable.

[Aberdeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how they point out what's good/true about each worldview.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good start to begin to understand the world around you.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this textbook for a theology course. Definitely an intellectual slog at times but worth the endeavor.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but complicated