ABSTRACT
The adjectival form verdslig is derived from the Old Danish werdzlig and the Older New Danish verdslig. The state of being verdslig is characterized by a focus on the material, outer, temporal, or secular world, rather than the spiritual, inner, eternal, or religious part of reality. In one sense, “worldliness” refers to the hedonistic pursuit of the aesthetic goods and pleasures of this world, rather than ethical or religious goods. More generally, it can refer to anything non-ecclesiastical, bourgeois, or secular. In another sense, “worldliness” refers to wisdom in the affairs of this world.1 Although Verdslighed gets translated in the Hongs’ edition as both “worldliness” and “secularism,” for the purposes of simplicity this entry will only use the word “worldliness.”
