In the context of my argument in the previous chapter that social and political activity is today the privileged locus of religious experience, I want to ask how far radicalism is compatible with the Christian faith. Christian belief in a transcendent Kingdom as the ultimate fulfilment of human solidarity imposes limits to what can be expected from politics in seeking fundamental change in human society. But first, since radicalism is an unusually vague term, I must make clear the meaning I have in mind.

In the widest sense, ‘radical’ is used of those political and religious views that push to an extreme their demand for change in the existing order. It is generally associated with a movement for fundamental change, but the exact change desired has differed from period to period. Moreover, although most often used of left-wing democratic movements, ‘radicalism’ does sometimes designate right-wing oligarchical movements calling for a regeneration of society.

My concern is with a more precise meaning. By radicalism I mean the belief that human reason and will are powerful enough to overcome the present imperfection of the human condition by basic social and political change and thus to create a completely new social order of liberty, equality and fraternity. There are several elements in the definition.

First, there is the idea that social and political change, if thorough enough, can remove the present evils of the human condition. This reflects the gradual weakening and loss of belief in the doctrine of original sin. From the Renaissance onwards,there was a reluctance to accept that human beings were intrinsically implicated in a reign of sin and thus in permanent need of a supernatural redemption.