The Economic Teachings of the Christian Church

The spread of the Christian religion—alongside Romanization and the Migration Period—was the third major factor that significantly influenced the economic development of Europe. This dynamically developing new religion rearranged previous values and gave human life new directions and goals.

The Sermon on the Mount, for example, condemns the wealthy and declares that the poor are blessed, for the kingdom of God belongs to them. In these troubled times, Christian preaching about the Kingdom of Heaven and the coming of a more peaceful world easily resonated with the dreams of the masses. Although the arrival of the promised better world seemed to be pushed further and further into the future, the teachings did not lose their credibility.

A strict tenet of the early Church was that earthly life is a place of exile and trial. St Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (354–430), declared that there is an irreconcilable opposition between the City of God and the earthly world. One is the home of the elect, who live according to God's laws; the other is the realm of the godless and the sinful, who obey human laws. A person's task is to fight against sin, evil, and temptation until the Kingdom of God—civitas Dei, the reign of love, peace, and divine justice—arrives on Earth. (De civitate Dei)

Both the Church and the Bible condemn interest-taking more than any other economic manipulation. Lending money at usury was already forbidden in the Old Testament:
"If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest." (Exodus 22:25)
This prohibition was later repeated with increasing strictness.

Based on a passage from the Gospel of Luke, the Church Fathers declared that money may be lent only out of love for one's neighbour:
"But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great." (Luke 6:35)

In the early 4th century, a system of sanctions was established as well: if a priest was caught engaging in usury, he was irrevocably excommunicated; a commoner could receive forgiveness once, but if he relapsed, he too was permanently excommunicated.

In the following centuries, any activity related to usury became stigmatized as a sin. The Church did not distinguish between reasonable interest and usury—it condemned both equally. The example of usury shows that in the early Middle Ages, the Church tended more to restrain economic life than to stimulate it.

However, in two ways the Church nevertheless supported economic life, albeit indirectly. It contributed greatly to the preservation of urban life by establishing the seats of its leaders (archbishops and bishops) in the towns inherited from the Roman Empire (civitates). The Church developed its own administrative system similar to that of the state, and as its number of followers grew, so did its need for material resources—inevitably leading to a new economic concept.

A new view became widespread: that a gift given to the Church was a gift offered to God, and such donations could redeem sins and render them null.

Legacies were mostly landed estates, which were managed by monks. In this way, the Church and the monasteries gradually became owners of large estates similar to the latifundia of the barbarian kings. By the 8th century, the Church had become the largest landowner in the Christian world.

In summary, the Church's influence on the economy:

• Direct influence: on people's way of life and modes of thought.
• Indirect influence: on the revival of urban life and the system of large estates.

Robert Latovche, The Birth of Western Economy, London, 1961 (translated by Éva Lá