ABSTRACT
Christianity is that particular kind of transcendent vision that looks for ‘peace on earth, goodwill toward men’. This chapter deals with expressions of the transcendent within the immanent frame characteristic of modernity. These expressions take the form of rival Enlightenment visions, partly derived from the Christian transcendent, and embodied in the nation or the party, or the party in the form of the nation. The Christian transcendent is in tension with the sacred, understood in Durkheimian terms as a manifestation of the majesty of society rather than the judgement and mercy of God. A Durkheimian understanding of the potency of the social sacred has been contrasted with the tension introduced by the Christian transcendent. The role of Wisdom, conceived in the form of Sophia, and allied to practical reason, raises an issue which may appear philosophical, but has important sociological implications. It concerns the rational, or at least the reasonable, articulation of religion in the public sphere.
