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Abstract
Without attempting to set out a detailed reconstruction of Kant's doctrine of radical evil, there is much to gain by thinking through the most general consequences of the doctrine, particularly in light of its basic compatibility with the characteristic presuppositions of Enlightenment modernity. The work in which Kant announces it, Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone, can be read as one of the first great works of modern theology, especially insofar as modern theologians try less to answer the charges brought against religion by Enlightenment rationality than to reinterpret religion within an Enlightenment framework. It is remarkable that Kant, the great moralist, ever shared the same hope that evil could be called to the service of good. But it can be found even in his most central works. The religion Kant has in mind does not rest on external statutes and commands, but on the inner voice of what Kant calls reason.