Ad Radices : Cicero at the Roots of Christian Social Teaching

Many studies and documents have contributed to Christian social teaching across traditions in the past 150 years, yet there remains a lack of philosophical clarity as well as dialogue between traditions on social issues. Cicero’s social philosophy had a profound but often forgotten impact on the development of Christian social thought: He coined the very terms societas and humanitas and developed the concept of communitas . We are indebted to him in the very language we employ to discuss social thought, yet we often lack the rich context and deeper meaning he provides. This research details the seeds in Cicero’s social philosophy for the principles of Catholic social thought—the common good, human dignity, solidarity, and subsidiarity—and then traces Cicero’s influence from the fourth to the fourteenth century, to show how Christian thinkers have incorporated his ideas. By learning about the unacknowledged sources of some of our presuppositions, we hope to retrieve vital resources common to all Christians, for developing Christian social thought, fostering collaboration between traditions, and promoting dialogue with non-Christians who address social issues.