Everybody has a worldview, a mental framework by which they interpret the world around them. Worldviews are foundational to the way we view human identity and how we think we should live and behave. If a worldview is thought of as a building, then the most basic level—the ground floor—consists of the origins account. An origins account explains how the world around us came to be and also explains the origin of life, in particular human life. These important concepts have far-reaching effects on the higher levels of the worldview structure. American philosopher Paul Kurtz, regarded as the “father of secular humanism”,[1] stated that
… critics of Darwinism properly perceive that, if the implications of Darwinism are fully accepted, this would indeed mean a basic change in our outlook of who we are, what we are, and also how we ought to live.[2]
Kurtz was saying that a societal shift away from biblical concepts, in favor of Darwinian concepts, would transform society from the bottom up by altering the base level of the majority worldview.
Given the significance of worldviews, we will commence with an investigation into their main features and impact on the origins debate. We’ll introduce the key aspects of worldviews by comparing two accounts—one Darwinian and the other biblical.
[1] Secular humanism is a belief system which denies the supernatural, instead drawing on human reason as a source for ethics and morality.
[2] Kurtz, 1998.