Summary of Chapter 2: "From Image of God to Public Image"

In the past, people didn't seem to struggle with the question of identity in the way we do today. Other questions were at the forefront of their minds, and they derived a sense of self from a commonly held standard. Now, I don't for one second paint a sanitized version of the past. Christian cultures have often failed to see the image of God in other cultures and, sadly, sometimes committed abominable actions in the name of Christ; but on the whole, the idea of God-given identity was foundational to a person's sense of self. The belief that humans were created in the image of God was the center point of an understanding of self. This framework of identity, with its Judeo-Christian belief in God-given identity and a Greek belief in virtuous living, can be described as "the vertical self". The vertical self explains the way that identity is developed by being part of a greater order. At the top of this vertical order is God, and humans look upward to measure their behavior against a greater moral good.

Today, the way you see yourself and understand your identity is not unique. You feel the way you do because you are a product of a culture that has shaped you to process the world in a particular way. Let's talk a quick Sociology 101 tour of the influences that make you see yourself the way you do:

1. Weird science: The rise of the modern era was directly linked to the rise of science. No longer were our identities governed by the laws of the Kingdom of God, but rather by the laws of the jungle.
2. Losing my religion: The rise of science and the modern era meant that all religious belief was questioned. Western cultures shifted faith in God to faith in our own human potential.
3. "I'm kind of a big deal": Radical individualism has shaped our self-identity.
4. Making it: A person's function became more important than his or her character.
5. Cheesy love songs ... well, sort of: Songs, movies, and novels all speak of romantic love being the most important thing in life. We are told that when we fall in love, we will "find ourselves"

The secular individual can only look sideways - hence the contrasting term horizontal self. It looks to others for a sense of identity rather than to something larger than oneself, thus finding a sense of self in one's status within society. The horizontal self looks to the world for approval and acceptance. Identity is exchanged for imagery.

When it comes to our identities, it is as if we are now homeless. We desire to find a home, a place where we can be accepted and loved unconditionally for who we are, but the age of the horizontal self means that we must keep on the move, constantly trying to play by our culture's rules of identity and constant competition with those around us for attention and affection.

Source: Mark Sayers (2010), The Vertical Self, p.7-20