Secularization of Interest in Early Christianity: A Sociological Analysis of Economic Institutions
Secularization of Interest in Early Christianity: A Sociological Analysis of Economic Institutions

Summary/Abstract: In this paper investigates the traces of financial institutionalization in early Christianity with a focus on halalization (secularization) of the concept of interest. Secularization is being discussed in the context of monasticism since the period in focus is early Christianity. In the study, monasticism is classified into three types: Classical, Cenobitic, and Benedictine. For its research purposes, the study employs qualitative methods like using a case study design. In addition, primary and secondary sources are reviewed to obtain data. Later, this obtained data is analysed through descriptive and process analyses. The role of interest in Classical Monasticism is analysed through descriptive analysis, which ascertains that there was a parallelism between the increase in organising based on an economic mentality and the secularization of interest. Moreover, it is discovered that there were organizational forms with a tendency towards institutionalization. These were mainly: (1) organizational forms regarding the division of labour and specialization that were surrounded by some regulations and (2) organizational forms that laid the foundation for the modern (secularized) concept of interest which became the time value of money when a socio-temporal order was established.

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