The Politics of Radical Orthodoxy: A Catholic Critique

Abstract

This article critically analyzes the three distinct forms of political ecclesiology thus far developed by the Radical Orthodoxy movement. William Cavanaugh and Daniel Bell, on the one hand, and Graham Ward, on the other, proffer models that resolve in different ways the contradictions of John Milbank's affirmation that peace amid diversity is possible only within the church (i.e., in the absence of significant religious diversity). While Cavanaugh and Bell share Milbank's rejection of Vatican II's approach, Ward's “critical engagement” is (surprisingly) consistent with the conciliar position.