Attitudes of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to usury

The chapter examines why interest financing, and usurious behaviour generally, was so disfavoured by all three religions, and how they were grappling with the same issues, whether couched in terms of usury, interest or riba. The Old Testament has clear injunctions prohibiting usury, which carry through to Christianity. Nevertheless, Judaism was able to avoid these rulings via what has become known as the ‘Deuteronomic double standard’ and by developing profit-sharing via partnerships. This latter path is the recommended approach in Islam, and the authors consider the Persian/Arab scholar Ravi’s five reasons for prohibiting riba. Christianity was, if anything, even more strongly opposed to usury, and the authors set out ten justifications that have been offered for its opposition. In the end, however, Christianity relented and the economist Jeremy Bentham, in what can be seen as an early account of the modern Western position, propounded why it should do so.