W - Worldly — EXJW World

What does “worldly” mean among Jehovah’s Witnesses — and what does that contrast do to your thinking and conscience?

Recognizable questions

- What do Jehovah’s Witnesses mean by “the world”?

- Who are “worldly people”?

- Why is Satan called the ruler of this world?

- What does it do to a child when it hears that the Devil is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour?

- Why can you feel guilty if you actually really like something “worldly”?

- Who decides whether music, clothing, hair, jewelry, or entertainment are worldly?

- Why can something be accepted in one congregation and disapproved of in another?

- How free is a personal choice when you know others may see that choice as worldly?

- And why can that feeling remain even when you later are no longer a Jehovah’s Witness?

“The truth” and “the world”

Within the language used by Jehovah’s Witnesses, there is a striking contrast. On the one hand there is “the truth”; on the other, “the world”.
Someone can be in the truth. Someone who is not a Jehovah’s Witness can be called worldly in everyday speech. People talk about worldly friends, worldly music, a worldly appearance, or worldly behavior.
For someone who did not grow up as a Jehovah’s Witness, such expressions can sound strange. Within the congregation, almost everyone immediately understands what is meant.
At the same time, the words make a boundary visible: inside and outside, spiritual and worldly, Jehovah’s standards and the standards of the world.

What does “the world” mean in the Bible?

The Bible does not always use the word world in the same way. Sometimes it refers to mankind. John 3:16, for example, says that God loved the world so much that he gave his Son.
In other places, the world takes on a negative religious meaning. According to 1 John 5:19, “the whole world lies in the power of the wicked one.” James 4:4 says that “friendship with the world is enmity with God.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses therefore teach that Christians do live among other people and love them, but must not become part of the world.
In this teaching, “the world” does not simply mean that every individual outside the congregation is considered bad. Rather, it refers to a human system estranged from God and under Satan’s influence.
For a child, however, that distinction can be more complicated.

Satan and the world

Within the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Satan is a real spirit being. In the Bible he is referred to, among other things, as “the ruler of this world” and “the god of this world.”
One of the strongest images is found at 1 Peter 5:8:
“Your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
For an adult believer, it is clear that devour is figurative language for spiritual danger. A young child may experience such images much more concretely.
A roaring lion is something to fear. Being devoured brings to mind danger, pain, and destruction. When a child also learns that Satan influences the world outside the congregation, worldly and danger can become emotionally linked.
Not every child experiences this in the same way. One child may shrug it off, while another is deeply affected by it.

But that same world can be very attractive

That creates a particular tension for some children.
Because outside the congregation there is not only an abstract “world.” There is also that nice girl from class. There is music that makes you happy. A birthday party everyone is invited to. A movie that looks exciting. Fashion that you think is beautiful. A sports club you would love to join. Later, maybe someone you fall in love with.
And it turns out that those people are not all bad at all. They can be kind, honest, helpful, and loving.
A child can therefore learn at the same time:
“The world is spiritually dangerous.”
and feel:
“But I like many things and people from that world.”

“Why do I like this, then?”

Then something can happen to the conscience.
A child no longer thinks only: “I like this song.” A second thought may immediately follow: “But isn’t this worldly?”
Or:
“What does Jehovah think about me liking this?”
That suddenly gives an ordinary preference a moral meaning. You are not only judging what you do, but sometimes even what you like.
For some children and adults, that can lead to guilt:
If I like this while it is worldly, does that say something about me? Am I still spiritual? Do I love Jehovah enough?

Feeling guilty does not automatically mean you are doing something wrong

That distinction is important.
Our conscience does not arise in a vacuum. It is shaped in part by our parents, culture, religion, experiences, and the reactions of people who are important to us.
As a result, someone can sincerely feel guilty about something another person finds perfectly normal.
That feeling of guilt is real. But:
‘I feel guilty’ does not automatically mean: ‘So what I’m doing is wrong.’
The reverse is also true. Not feeling guilty does not automatically prove that something is right.
A feeling tells you that something in you has been touched. After that, you can explore why.

Who actually decides what is ‘worldly’?

With some subjects, the boundaries among Jehovah’s Witnesses are clear. With other everyday choices, it is much more complicated.
For example, there is no Bible verse that says how many holes a woman may have in her ears. There is no verse stating which hairstyle is worldly or which genre of music a Christian may or may not listen to.
Then broader Bible principles are applied. People may look at modesty, reputation, local culture, associations, and whether someone is conforming too much to the world.
And that is where room for human interpretation arises.

Two holes in your ears

That can become visible in something as small as earrings.
In one congregation, for example, it may be considered that multiple holes in one ear give too worldly an appearance. In another congregation, region, or generation, almost no one may have a problem with it.
The Bible has not changed in the meantime.
What has changed is the cultural meaning people attach to appearance.
That raises an important question:
If something is considered worldly in one congregation and accepted in another, which part comes directly from the Bible and which part comes from culture and human interpretation?

‘Worldly’ changes with the surroundings

Fashion and culture are constantly changing. An appearance that was once considered rebellious or striking may be perfectly ordinary twenty years later.
Differences can also exist between regions. What stands out immediately in a conservative environment may barely be noticed somewhere else.
As a result, the practical boundary between appropriate and worldly can also shift without any Bible text having changed.
That does not mean Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot have standards. It does mean it is useful to distinguish between an explicit Bible rule and a human application of a Bible principle.

What about tattoos?

Leviticus 19:28 contains a prohibition for ancient Israel against tattoo marks. According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, however, Christians are not under the Mosaic Law.
For that reason, the statement ‘the Bible directly forbids every Christian from getting a tattoo’ is too simplistic.
That said, Bible principles can be applied to the choice to get a tattoo. The image, motivation, local culture, and the way others view tattoos can all play a role.
Here too, the question is relevant:
Does my specific choice appear literally in the Bible, or is a Bible principle being applied to my choice?

Worldly music, worldly hair, worldly clothing

The same happens with expressions like worldly music, worldly clothing, worldly friends, worldly speech, worldly hair or a worldly mindset.
Sometimes it is clear what someone means by it. With music, for example, one may look at violence, sexuality, drugs, occultism, or some other message that someone finds incompatible with their Christian values.
But the word worldly by itself does not yet tell you why something would be wrong.
That is why a simple follow-up question can make a lot clear:
‘What exactly is worldly about it?’
Is it the content? The appearance? The association? The local culture? A Bible principle? Or mainly the fact that something is popular outside the congregation?

‘Worldly’ as a framing word

That is why you can also view worldly as a framing word.
A framing word does not just describe something; it also places it within a particular interpretive framework.
When someone says: ‘That’s a popular hairstyle’, you still do not know whether the speaker likes it or dislikes it.
When someone in a religious setting says: ‘That’s really worldly’, the same choice immediately takes on a moral or spiritual coloring.
The word can therefore trigger a judgment even before it has been clearly discussed what is actually wrong with it.
That does not mean the person using it is consciously trying to influence someone. It may simply be the language through which they themselves learned to view such choices.

‘Worldly people’

With people, it becomes even more sensitive.
A classmate, colleague, neighbor, or family member may be described in everyday language as worldly because he is not one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
But worldly says nothing about his character.
Someone outside the congregation can be honest, loyal, loving, and helpful. A Jehovah’s Witness can of course recognize and appreciate that too.
That is why it is important to distinguish between a religious category and a judgment about a person’s worth as a human being.
For children, that distinction may be even more important. Otherwise, a child can easily start to think:
‘If we have the truth and they are of the world, are we better people?’
Even though that is not necessarily what parents or the organization mean by it.

How free is a personal choice?

Jehovah’s Witnesses talk a lot about the personal conscience. On all kinds of matters, a Christian ultimately has to make his or her own decision.
But a decision is never made completely independently of the environment.
Suppose no one literally forbids you to wear a certain hairstyle. You only know that elders or other congregation members will probably consider that style worldly.
Maybe you expect people to see you as less spiritual. Maybe you’ll get counsel. Maybe you wonder whether certain responsibilities in the congregation will become harder as a result.
Formally, you can still choose.
But psychologically, the choice has now come with a price.
That is why there is a difference between formal freedom of choice and experienced freedom of choice.

What do the choices you make make you into?

That is where the concept of worldly touches identity.
Who you are becomes visible in part through the choices you make: what music you like, what clothes you wear, who you associate with, how you wear your hair, where you go, and what values you consider important.
But no one makes those choices completely without influence from others. Even outside a religious community, people are influenced by parents, friends, social media, culture, and fashion.
Being completely uninfluenced and “just being yourself” probably doesn’t exist.
A more interesting question is:
‘Do I understand what influences my choices, and do I have enough space to decide for myself what truly suits me?’

When you actually like something worldly

For someone who grows up as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, that can create an inner conflict.
You like certain music, but feel guilty about it. You want to go somewhere, but hear in your head that it is worldly. You think a certain style is beautiful, but don’t dare wear it.
Then in the end, you may start controlling not only your behavior, but also your desires:
Why do I want this?
What does that say about my spirituality?
Would Jehovah be disappointed in me?
If such thoughts are repeated for years, the judgment can increasingly come from within.

When no one has to say “worldly” anymore

In psychology, internalization is used when norms from your environment become part of your own thinking and self-regulation.
That is a normal part of growing up. As adults, we do not need to hear from our parents every morning that we should not lie or steal. Many norms have become part of us.
The same can happen with religious norms.
At some point, no one needs to say:
‘That’s worldly.’
You say it to yourself in your thoughts.
That can be positive when it concerns values you fully stand behind yourself. It becomes more complicated when your beliefs later change, but the old emotional reaction remains.

You’re out — but the feeling is still there

That happens with some former Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Intellectually, you may now think:
‘I no longer believe there is anything wrong with this.’
And yet you still feel tension, shame, or guilt when you do it.
That can be confusing:
‘Why does this still feel wrong if I no longer believe it is wrong at all?’
Because thoughts sometimes change faster than learned emotional reactions.
When something has been linked for years with Jehovah, Satan, the world, good and bad, approval, and your identity, that emotional connection cannot always disappear the moment your belief changes.

How do you get that out of your system?

Not by forcing yourself to suddenly like everything that was once not allowed.
It can help to separate three things:
What am I feeling?
I feel guilty when I do this.
What did I learn in the past?
I learned that this was worldly and that Jehovah would not approve.
What do I think of it now, for myself?
According to my current values, do I really think this is wrong? Why or why not?
Just making that distinction can already change a lot.
You do not have to get rid of the old feeling right away. You can learn to recognize:
‘This feeling belongs to what I was taught for years. I am allowed to reassess whether the rule behind it still fits me.’

Your conscience can change

Through new experiences, old associations can gradually become weaker.
For example, you do something that used to feel worldly and notice:
I am hurting no one.
This does not go against my current values.
I am still the same caring person.
The first time may feel uncomfortable. The tenth time perhaps less so.
That does not mean you have to switch off your conscience. Rather, you are re-examining your conscience:
Which standards do I want to keep because I value them myself? Which ones do I want to change? And about which choices do I honestly still not know?
When old fear, guilt, or shame remains very strong or interferes with daily functioning, professional psychological help can be useful in examining such learned responses.

Freedom does not mean doing the opposite

When someone leaves Jehovah’s Witnesses, a new trap can also appear: the feeling that freedom now means you must do exactly what used to be frowned upon.
But that, too, still lets the old rules determine what you do — only in reverse.
You do not have to get a tattoo, listen to certain music, celebrate birthdays, or start dressing differently just because that may once have been seen as ‘worldly’.
Freedom does not mean you automatically have to do the opposite of what you were taught before. Freedom means you get to explore again what truly fits you.
You may keep many values from your upbringing. You may change a lot. You may discover that you do not miss some things at all.
Then the decision no longer comes only from:
‘This isn’t allowed, because it’s worldly.’
But increasingly from:
‘This does or does not fit the person I want to be.’

Questions to reflect on

- What exactly do I mean when I call something ‘worldly’?

- Is it really in conflict with a Bible text, or is a principle being applied?

- Would the same choice be judged differently in another congregation or culture?

- If so, which part comes from the Bible and which part from the environment?

- Do I feel guilty because I am going against my own values, or because I learned that something is worldly?

- If no one in the congregation ever saw my choice, would I decide the same way?

- Am I afraid of what Jehovah thinks, what other people think, or are those two difficult for me to separate?

- Which values from my upbringing do I want to consciously keep?

- Which rules do I want to re-examine?

- And which choices truly fit who I want to be?

In conclusion

‘Worldly’ within Jehovah’s Witnesses is much more than a word for something that exists outside the congregation. It belongs to a religious worldview in which Jehovah represents the truth, Satan influences the present world, and Christians are warned not to become part of that world.
For a believer, that can provide clear moral direction. For a child, the same contrast can become deeply linked with good and bad, safe and dangerous, inside and outside.
At the same time, not everything experienced as worldly in everyday congregation life is directly forbidden in the Bible. Culture, time, local views, and human application of Bible principles can also determine where the line is drawn.
That is why it can be valuable not to stop at the word worldly, but to go one question further:
‘What exactly is wrong with this — and what am I basing that on?’
And for someone who later no longer lives as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, another question can become important. The word worldly may disappear from your everyday language while the associated guilt remains.
Then you do not have to automatically reject everything you were taught before. Nor do you have to automatically do the opposite.
You are allowed to rediscover which values are truly your own.

‘Do I really think this is wrong — or have I learned that I am supposed to feel wrong about it?’

Sources

New World Translation - John 3:16; John 12:31; John 17:14-16; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17; 1 John 5:19; 1 Peter 5:8
JW.org - publications about “the world,” not being part of the world, associations, appearance, and entertainment
Watchtower Online Library - publications about worldly influence, conscience, and personal decisions
JW.org - publications about tattoos and Bible principles
American Psychological Association - information about development, socialization, guilt, and learned behavior
Albert Bandura - Social Learning Theory