--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Behind every civilization lies a vision…" description: "\"“Behind every civilization lies a vision and a worldview, and none is greater or more lasting than the strength of its vision.”\" — Os Guinness" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/os-guinness-6581_civilization_behind-every-civilization-lies-a-vision_1646326.png" --- # Behind every civilization lies a vision and a worldview… ![“Behind every civilization lies a vision and a worldview, and none is greater or more lasting than the strength of its vision.” quote by Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/os-guinness-6581_civilization_behind-every-civilization-lies-a-vision_1646326.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/os-guinness-6581_civilization_behind-every-civilization-lies-a-vision_1646326.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/os-guinness-6581_civilization_behind-every-civilization-lies-a-vision_1646326.png) > ““Behind every civilization lies a vision and a worldview, and none is greater or more lasting than the strength of its vision.”” [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote asserts that a civilization’s lasting strength comes from its vision and worldview. **In simple terms:** Vision and worldview are the foundation of enduring civilizations. Key Takeaway Cultivate a clear, lasting vision. Themes civilization vision worldview Mood reflective thought‑provoking Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - national policy - education reform - community building Key Concepts cultural identity long‑term planning philosophical foundations Questions to Reflect On - What vision guides your community? - How can diverse worldviews coexist? A Different Perspective Vision can be vague or contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [Believe in your strength and your vision. 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It's the power to do what you ought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/freedom-is-not-the-permission-to-do-what-you-like-it-s-the-power-to/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“It is realistic rather than cynical to observe that in a fallen world there are degrees of virtue in relation to what is right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/it-is-realistic-rather-than-cynical-to-observe-that-in-a-fallen-world/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [For the grand and inescapable tradition of western literary classics confronts us with fundamental choices over our understanding of words, reading and art, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/for-the-grand-and-inescapable-tradition-of-western-literary-classics/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“The story is told of Socrates walking through the market in Athens, with its groaning abundance of options, and saying to himself, "Who would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/the-story-is-told-of-socrates-walking-through-the-market-in-athens/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [By our uncritical pursuit of relevance we have actually courted irrelevance; by our breathless chase after relevance without a matching committment to faithfulness, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/by-our-uncritical-pursuit-of-relevance-we-have-actually-courted/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [Evangelicalism can only remain evangelical if it is passionately serious about truth and theology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/evangelicalism-can-only-remain-evangelical-if-it-is-passionately/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“Sometimes when I listen to people who say they have lost their faith, I am far less surprised than they expect. 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Nor can they.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/neither-secular-progress-nor-secular-progressives-have-brought-the/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [This is also why it is wrong to treat God as a grand employment agency, a celestial executive searcher to find perfect fits for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/this-is-also-why-it-is-wrong-to-treat-god-as-a-grand-employment/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [We human beings are never happier than when we are expressing the deepest gifts that are truly us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/we-human-beings-are-never-happier-than-when-we-are-expressing-the/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [Christ is the only way to God, but there are as many ways to Christ as there are people who come to Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/christ-is-the-only-way-to-god-but-there-are-as-many-ways-to-christ-as/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) [Explore all 98 Os Guinness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. 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Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. 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We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/our-laws-and-our-institutions-must-necessarily-be-based-upon-and/) [David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/) [Browse all 4,084 Civilization quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Behind every civilization lies a vision and a worldview, and none is greater or more lasting than the strength of its vision.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Os Guinness" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/behind-every-civilization-lies-a-vision-and-a-worldview-and-none-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilization" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/behind-every-civilization-lies-a-vision-and-a-worldview-and-none-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/os-guinness-6581_civilization_behind-every-civilization-lies-a-vision_1646326.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/os-guinness-6581_civilization_behind-every-civilization-lies-a-vision_1646326.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/os-guinness-6581_civilization_behind-every-civilization-lies-a-vision_1646326.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Behind every civilization lies a vision and a worldview, and none is greater or more lasting than the…” — Os Guinness", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Os Guinness", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Behind every civilization lies a vision...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/behind-every-civilization-lies-a-vision-and-a-worldview-and-none-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/behind-every-civilization-lies-a-vision-and-a-worldview-and-none-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```