 |
|
     |
|
|
|
According to Jacob Viner's Religious Thought and Economic Society, Protestants were more apt to advocate mercantilism than Catholics, and the differences were rooted in their different attitudes toward the nation-state: "Mercantilism penetrated much less into Catholic than into Protestan theology. Catholic doctrine as such as universalist by tradition, and papal ambitions, ecclesiastical and political, encountered a formidable obstacle in strongly nationalistic policies . . . . Mercantilism, which was nationalist in essence and stressed national objects as against the moral claims of individuals or other peoples, found an easier entry into the doctrinal teaching of clergymen belonging to the various state-established, state-supported, and largely state-dominated churches of Protestantism than into the corpus of doctrine of the tradition-bound and supra-national Catholic Church. Although in its struggle against Gallicanism and Protestantism, the Papacy did not hesitate to make use of national rivalries for power and wealth, it escaped deep entanglement with mercantilism and doctrine, as some of the established churches of Protestantism did not."
Two further observations: One, that these differences in assessment of the nation-state are really more fundamentally differences in ecclesiology. It would be interesting to track the relations, if any, between ecumenism within Protestantism and policies regarding international trade, especially in the US. Two, where'd Pat Buchanan come from?
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, May 08, 2004 at 03:13 PM
Permission is given to use material on this site, provided the source is cited, blog entries are republished in full, and the author is notified in advance.
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
