Special issue of 'Studies in Christian Ethics' on usury and financial regulation edited by Centre scholars

Centre Associate Director, Dr Jonathan Cole and Centre Adjunct Research Professor Paul Oslington have co-edited a special issue of the journal Studies in Christian Ethics on usury and financial regulation. The special issue emerged out of the Centre's 2024 HG Brennan workshop in economics and theology which focused on the theme of usury. Although usury is an arcane concept for many today, Christianityhas a long tradition of thinking about the justice of charging interest that influenced the secular law until relatively recently (in historical terms). In the United Kingdom, for instance, usuary was prohibited until 1854.

With financial regulation emerging as a major issue of concern in recent times thanks in large part to the global financial crisis and in Australia the Royal Commision into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry, the organisers of the HG Brennan workshop thought it would be worth re-examining the Christian tradition on usury to see what insights it might have to offer issues of financial justice and contemporary financial regulation.

Three papers on usury were given at the HG Brennan workshop which are all included in the special issue, along with several additional commisioned papers. The topics covered in the special issue are usury in the Bible, Catholic and Reformed teaching on usury, usury and the common good, institutional usury, usury and the ethics of mutuality and the case for an interest-free economy.

Read the full Special Issue

Back to news