Religions, Thinkers, and Laws are Against Usury

The great debt yoke of humanity is often associated with the collection of weighty interest by creditors, i.e. usury.

As of 2020, the three leading religions in the world by the number of believers are Christianity (about 29% of the world's population), Islam (about 26% of the world's population) and Hinduism (about 15% of the world's population). And all three religions condemn usury in one way or another.

The Old Testament unequivocally defines that usury is incompatible with true faith: the righteous "has not given forth upon usury, neither has taken any increase" (Old Testament: Ezekiel, chapter 18, verses 5 and 8). The Torah specifically prohibits usury towards co-religionists: "If you lend money to any of my people that is poor by you, you shall not be to him as an usurer, neither shall you lay upon him usury" (Old Testament: Exodus, chapter 22, verse 25).

In some cases, lending money was prohibited or condemned by many rulers or thinkers of antiquity. The laws of King Hammurabi (XVIII century BC), the Middle Assyrian and Hittite laws prohibited or severely restricted usurious activities.

According to ancient Roman law, a moneylender was considered more dishonest and vicious than a thief. The latter was fined twice the amount of the stolen goods, while the loan shark was fined four times the amount of interest received.

Usury as a phenomenon was condemned by such authorities as Plato, Seneca, and Cicero. Aristotle said that interest is the most unnatural form of income, since money is intended only for exchange and cannot give birth to new money.

In the early Middle Ages, Christian theologians condemned usury in all its forms no less harshly than their Muslim counterparts later. In 325, the Council of Nicaea strongly condemned the collection of interest by clergy. This ban remained in place for quite a long time. Back in the 11th century, Christian authors equated usury with robbery. Thus, the outstanding canonical lawyer, the Bolognese monk Gratian, defined usury as "what is required in addition to the principal amount," and insisted that the moneylender, like a thief, return what he took in excess of the amount owed.

The sale of goods on credit, if the price of the goods exceeded the sale price for cash, was also subject to the prohibition of usury. In 1139, the Second Lateran Council declared all forms of usury prohibited.

Thomas Aquinas, the greatest medieval theologian, wrote that by lending money, lenders, in an effort to present a fair deal, demand interest as payment for the time they provide to borrowers. However, time is a universal good given by God to all equally. Thus, the moneylender deceives not only his neighbor, but also God, for whose gift he demands a reward.

In 1286, in Pisa, by a decree of the city community, moneylenders were forbidden to reside in the city, judges were forbidden to listen to their complaints, and citizens were forbidden to give them shelter. The statute of the City of Verona stated: "moneylenders are prohibited from entering the city and its surroundings". Secular authorities banned usury in France in 1312, and in England in 1341.

The famous philosopher of the XIV century Nicolas Oresme, advisor to Charles V, taught that moneylenders were unworthy of an honest name and unnecessary to society, as they did not provide it with the necessities of life.

Before the 16th century, the levying of interest was condemned by 17 Roman popes and 28 councils, including 6 ecumenical ones. In Holland, until 1657, moneylenders were not allowed to receive communion, i.e. the church separated them from other fellow citizens.

Islam opposes usury: "But those who devour interest become like the one whom Satan has bewitched and maddened by his touch. They have been condemned to this condition because they say, “trade is just like interest”, whereas Allah has made trade lawful and interest unlawful. Henceforth, if one abstains from taking interest after receiving this admonition from his Lord, no legal action will be taken against him regarding the interest he had devoured before; his case shall ultimately go to Allah. But if one repeats the same crime after this, he shall go to Hell, where he shall abide for ever" (Quran: surah 2, ayat 275).

Hinduism opposes usury: "А Brâhmana and a Kshatriya shall not lend anything at interest acting like usurers" (Vasishtha, The Sacred Laws of the Aryas, Part II, chapter 2, verse 40).

May lenders be ashamed of high interest rates on the loans!