Religion and Capitalism

Belief in the non-material world and accountability to God potentially endowed the religious mind with dissentient perspectives on capitalism. This chapter examines the proposition that religion has significantly shaped modern capitalism. The first part spans global interactions between the two phenomena, in Asia and the Middle East; and then at a firm level, in the West. The second part traces crucial interactions between religion and capitalism in the West: in the European origins of modern capitalism and in Britain’s pioneering industrial revolution. A hostile religious reaction to capitalism might have been expected in response to the odious institution of slavery. In fact, collisions and collusions occurred, with religious motivations predominating in the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. The overall verdict is that a fair survey of the development of modern capitalism must include a role for the negative and positive effects of religion.