The idea that all human beings were created in God’s image was core to the creation of the modern West

In God’s Image examines the central role that the idea that all people were created in the image
of God played in the development of Western civilization. Focusing on five themes—selfhood,
freedom, conscience, equality, and meaning—the book guides the reader through a cultural
history of the West, from ancient times through modernity. It explains how each of these ideals
was profoundly influenced by the central biblical conception of humanity’s creation in God’s
image, embracing an essential equality among all people, while also emphasizing each human
life’s singularity and significance.

The book argues that the West, and particularly Protestant Christianity, grew out of ideas rooted
deeply in this notion, and that it played a core role in the development of individualism,
liberalism, human rights discourse, and indeed the secularization process. Making the case for a
cultural understanding of history, the volume focuses on ideas as agents of change and
challenges the common scholarly emphasis on material conditions. Offering an innovative
perspective on the shaping of global modernity, In God’s Image examines the relationship
between faith and society and posits the fundamental role of the idea of the image of God in the
making of the moral ideals and social institutions we hold dear today.