View source for Usury

{{Short description|Loans with unfairly high interest rate}}
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[[Image:UsuryDurer.jpg|thumb|Of Usury, from [[Sebastian Brant|Brant's]] ''Stultifera Navis'' ([[Ship of Fools (satire)|''Ship of Fools'']]), 1494; [[woodcut]] attributed to [[Albrecht Dürer]]]]

'''Usury''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|uː|ʒ|ər|i}})<ref>{{cite web
| title = Usury
| work = Oxford English Dictionary
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| year = 2012
| url = http://www.oed.com
| access-date = 26 October 2012}}</ref><ref>The word is derived from [[Medieval Latin]] ''usuria'', "interest", or from [[Latin]] ''usura'', "interest"</ref> is the practice of making [[loan]]s that are seen as unfairly enriching the [[lender]]. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an [[interest rate]] is charged in excess of the [[Interest rate ceiling|maximum rate]] that is allowed by law. A loan may be considered usurious because of excessive or abusive interest rates or other factors defined by the laws of a state. Someone who practises usury can be called a ''usurer'', but in modern colloquial English may be called a ''[[loan shark]]''.

In many historical societies including ancient Christian, Jewish, and Islamic societies, usury meant the charging of [[interest]] of any kind, and was considered wrong, or was made illegal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.affil.org/consumer_rsc/usury.php|title=Americans for Fairness in Lending - The History of Usury|date=October 15, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015172719/http://www.affil.org/consumer_rsc/usury.php|archive-date=2008-10-15}}</ref>  During the [[Sutra|Sutra period]] in India (7th to 2nd centuries BC) there were laws prohibiting the highest [[Caste system in India|castes]] from practising usury.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jain|first=L. C.|title=Indigenous Banking In India|year=1929|publisher=Macmillan and Co.|location=London| oclc=4233411 | url = https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.1055 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.1055/page/n26 4]–6 }}</ref> Similar condemnations are found in religious texts from Buddhism, Judaism (''[[Loans and interest in Judaism|ribbit]]'' in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]), Christianity, and Islam (''[[riba]]'' in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]).<ref>{{cite book | title=The Islamic Moral Economy: A Study of Islamic Money and Financial Instruments | author=Karim, Shafiel A. | year=2010 | publisher=Brown Walker Press | location=Boca Raton, FL | isbn=978-1-59942-539-9}}</ref> At times, many states from [[ancient Greece]] to [[ancient Rome]] have outlawed loans with any interest. Though the [[Roman Empire]] eventually allowed loans with carefully restricted interest rates, the [[Catholic Church]] in medieval Europe, as well as the Reformed Churches, regarded the charging of interest at any rate as [[sin]]ful (as well as charging a fee for the use of money, such as at a [[bureau de change]]).<ref name="Cox1853"/> Christian religious prohibitions on usury are predicated upon the belief that charging interest on a loan is a sin.

==History==
Usury (in the original sense of any interest) was denounced by religious leaders and philosophers in the ancient world, including [[Moses]],<ref>{{Bibleverse|Exodus|22:25}}</ref> [[Plato]], [[Aristotle]], [[Cato the Elder|Cato]], [[Cicero]], [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]],<ref name="pr_tson">{{cite web|url=http://www.peterrussell.com/SP/Usury.php|title=Usury - The Root of All Evil|work=The Spirit of Now|publisher=Peter Russell}}</ref> [[Aquinas]],<ref name="aquinus_onusury">{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/aquinas-usury.html|title=Thomas Aquinas: On Usury, c. 1269–71|publisher=Fordham University}}</ref> [[Gautama Buddha]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Bodhi|first=Bhikku|title=Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood (Samma Vaca, Samma Kammanta, Samma Ajiva)|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/waytoend.html#ch4|publisher=Buddhist Publication Society|access-date=29 June 2012}}</ref> and [[Muhammad]].<ref name="muhammad_lastsermon">{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/muhm-sermon.html|title=The Prophet Muhammad's Last Sermon |publisher=Fordham University}}</ref>

Certain negative historical renditions of usury carry with them social connotations of perceived "unjust" or "discriminatory" lending practices. The historian [[Paul Johnson (writer)|Paul Johnson]] comments:

{{quote|Most early religious systems in the ancient [[Middle East|Near East]], and the secular codes arising from them, did not forbid usury. These societies regarded inanimate matter as alive, like plants, animals and people, and capable of reproducing itself. Hence if you lent 'food money', or monetary tokens of any kind, it was legitimate to charge interest.<ref>Johnson cites Fritz E. Heichelcheim: ''An Ancient Economic History'', 2 vols. (trans. Leiden 1965), i.104-566</ref> Food money in the shape of olives, dates, seeds or animals was lent out as early as c. 5000 BC, if not earlier. ...Among the [[Mesopotamia]]ns, [[Hittites]], [[Phoenicians]] and [[Egyptians]], interest was legal and often fixed by the state. But the Hebrew took a different view of the matter.<ref name="Johnson 1987 p.">{{cite book | last=Johnson | first=Paul | title=A history of the Jews | publisher=Harper & Row | location=New York | year=1987 | isbn=0-06-091533-1 | oclc=15282826 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofjews00john/page/172 172-173] | url=https://archive.org/details/historyofjews00john/page/172 }}</ref>}}

Theological historian John Noonan argues that "the doctrine [of usury] was enunciated by popes, expressed by three ecumenical councils, proclaimed by bishops, and taught unanimously by theologians."<ref name="noonan"/>

===England{{anchor|Usury Act 1487|Usury Act 1495|Usury Act 1545}}===
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Usury Act 1487
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of England
| long_title = An Acte agaynst Exchaunge and Rechaunge without the Kyngs Lycence.
| year = 1487
| citation = [[3 Hen. 7]]. c. 5
| territorial_extent = {{ubli|[[England and Wales]]|[[Ireland]]}}
| royal_assent = 9 November 1487{{efn|name=StartOfSession|Start of session.}}
| commencement = 9 November 1487{{efn|name=StartOfSession}}
| repeal_date = 14 October 1459
| repealing_legislation = [[Usury Act 1495]]
| related_legislation = {{ubli|[[Usury Act 1545]]|[[Usury Laws Repeal Act 1854]]}}
| status = Repealed
| original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915526&seq=537
| collapsed = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Usury Act 1495
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of England
| long_title = An Acte agaynst Usurye.
| year = 1495
| citation = [[11 Hen. 7]]. c. 8
| territorial_extent = {{ubli|[[England and Wales]]|[[Ireland]]}}
| royal_assent = 22 December 1495
| commencement = 14 October 1495{{efn|name=StartOfSession.}}
| repeal_date = 10 August 1872
| replaces = [[Usury Act 1487]]
| amendments = {{ubli|[[Usury Act 1545]]|[[Statute Law Revision Act 1863]]}}
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1872]]
| related_legislation = {{ubli|[[Usury Laws Repeal Act 1854]]}}
| status = Repealed
| original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915526&seq=598
| collapsed = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Usury Act 1545
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of England
| long_title = An Act Against Usurie.
| year = 1545
| citation = [[37 Hen. 8]]. c. 9
| territorial_extent = [[England and Wales]]
| royal_assent = 24 December 1545
| commencement = 23 November 1545{{efn|name=StartOfSession.}}
| repeal_date = 10 August 154
| amends = {{ubli|[[Usury Act 1495]]}}
| repealing_legislation = [[Usury Laws Repeal Act 1854]]
| related_legislation = {{ubli|[[Usury Act 1487]]|[[Usury Act 1623]]|[[Usury Act 1660]]}}
| status = Repealed
| original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915533&seq=1060
| collapsed = yes
}}

In England, the departing [[Crusaders]] were joined by crowds of debtors in the [[History of the Jews in England (1066–1290)#Massacres at London and York (1189–1190)|massacres of Jews at London and York in 1189–1190]]. In 1275, [[Edward I of England]] passed the [[Statute of the Jewry]] which made usury illegal and linked it to [[blasphemy]], in order to seize the assets of the violators. Scores of English Jews were arrested, 300 were hanged and their property went to [[the Crown]]. In 1290, all Jews were to be expelled from England, allowed to take only what they could carry; the rest of their property became the Crown's. Usury was cited as the official reason for the [[Edict of Expulsion]]; however, not all Jews were expelled: it was easy to avoid expulsion by converting to Christianity. Many other crowned heads of Europe expelled Jewish people, although again converts to Christianity were no longer considered Jewish. Many of these [[marranos|forced converts]] still [[crypto-Judaism|secretly practised]] their faith.

The growth of the [[Lombard banking|Lombard bankers]] and [[pawnbroker]]s, who moved from city to city, was along the [[pilgrim]] routes.

[[File:Die Wucherfrage.jpg|thumb|''Die Wucherfrage'' is the title of a [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] work against usury from 1869. Usury is condemned in 19th-century Missouri Synod doctrinal statements.<ref>{{cite web |title=Official Doctrinal Statements of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/bsmith-cts/etext/lcms/Synod/resolutions.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225041133/http://www.ctsfw.edu/bsmith-cts/etext/lcms/Synod/resolutions.pdf |archivedate=February 25, 2009}}</ref>]]

In the 16th century, short-term interest rates dropped dramatically (from around 20–30% p.a. to around 9–10% p.a.). This was caused by refined commercial techniques, increased capital availability, the [[Reformation]], and other reasons. The lower rates weakened religious scruples about lending at interest, although the debate did not cease altogether.

The [[Vix pervenit|18th century papal prohibition]] on usury meant that it was a sin to charge interest on a money loan. As set forth by [[Thomas Aquinas]] in the 13th century, because money was invented to be an [[Medium of exchange|intermediary in exchange]] for goods, it is unjust to charge a fee to someone after giving them money. This is because transferring ownership of property implies the right to use that property for its purpose: "Accordingly if a man wanted to sell wine separately from the use of the wine, he would be selling the same thing twice, or he would be selling what does not exist, wherefore he would evidently commit a sin of injustice."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aquinas |first1=Thomas |title=Summa Theologiae, II-II Q78 |url=https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3078.htm |website=newadvent.org |publisher=New Advent |access-date=5 July 2020}}</ref>

[[Charles Eisenstein]] has argued that pivotal change in the English-speaking world came with lawful rights to charge interest on lent money,<ref>[[Charles Eisenstein|Eisenstein, Charles]]: [http://www.realitysandwich.com/homepage_sacred_economics Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, and Society in the Age of Transition]</ref> particularly the 1545 act, "An Act Against Usurie" ([[37 Hen. 8]]. c. 9) of King [[Henry VIII]] of England.

===Roman Empire===
During the [[Principate]] period, most banking activities were conducted by [[moneylenders|private individuals]] who operated as large banking firms do today. Anybody that had any available liquid assets and wished to lend it out could easily do so.<ref>Zgur, Andrej: ''[http://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/2448/Economy_of_Roman_Empire.pdf The economy of the Roman Empire in the first two centuries A.D., An examination of market capitalism in the Roman economy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611140011/http://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/2448/Economy_of_Roman_Empire.pdf |date=2012-06-11 }}'', [[Aarhus School of Business]], December 2007, pp. 252–261.</ref>

The annual rates of interest on loans varied in the range of 4–12 percent, but when the interest rate was higher, it typically was not 15–16 percent but either 24 percent or 48 percent. They quoted them on a monthly basis, and the most common rates were multiples of twelve. Monthly rates tended to range from simple fractions to 3–4 percent, perhaps because lenders used [[Roman numerals]].<ref>Temin, Peter: ''[http://www-histecon.kings.cam.ac.uk/docs/temin.pdf Financial Intermediation in the Early Roman Empire] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717233726/http://www-histecon.kings.cam.ac.uk/docs/temin.pdf |date=2011-07-17 }}'', The Journal of Economic History, [[Cambridge University Press]], 2004, vol. 64, issue 03, p. 15.</ref>

During this period, moneylending primarily involved private loans given to individuals who were consistently in debt or temporarily so until harvest time. This practice was typically carried out by extremely wealthy individuals willing to take on high risks if the potential profit seemed promising. Interest rates were set privately and were largely unrestricted by law. Investment was always regarded as a matter of seeking personal profit, often on a large scale. Banking was of the small, back-street variety, run by the urban lower-middle class of petty shopkeepers. By the 3rd century, acute currency problems in the Empire drove such banking into decline.<ref>Young, Frances: ''Christian Attitudes to Finance in the First Four Centuries'', Epworth Review 4.3, [[Peterborough]], September 1977, p. 80.</ref> The rich who were in a position to take advantage of the situation became the moneylenders when the increasing tax demands in the last declining days of the Empire crippled and eventually destroyed the peasant class by reducing tenant-farmers to [[serfs]]. It was evident that usury meant [[Exploitation of labour|exploitation]] of the poor.<ref>Young, Frances: ''Christian Attitudes to Finance in the First Four Centuries'', Epworth Review 4.3, [[Peterborough]], September 1977, pp. 81–82.</ref>

[[Cicero]], in the second book of his treatise ''[[De Officiis]]'', relates the following conversation between an unnamed questioner and [[Cato the Elder|Cato]]:
{{quote|...of whom, when inquiry was made, what was the best policy in the management of one's property, he answered "Good grazing." "What was next?" "Tolerable grazing." "What third?" "Bad grazing." "What fourth?" "Tilling." And when he who had interrogated him inquired, "What do you think of lending at usury?" Then Cato answered, "What do you think of murder?"<ref name="TaylorHunt1918">{{cite book|author1=Hannis Taylor|author2=Mary Lillie Taylor Hunt|title=Cicero: A Sketch of His Life and Works : a Commentary on the Roman Constitution and Roman Public Life, Supplemented by the Sayings of Cicero Arranged for the First Time as an Anthology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ExAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA376|year=1918|publisher=A.C. McClurg & Company|page=376}}</ref><ref name="Cicero Miller 1913">{{cite web | last=Cicero | first=Marcus Tullius |author-link=Cicero | translator-last1=Miller | translator-first1=Walter |translator-link1=Walter Miller (philologist)| title=De officiis With an English translation by Walter Miller | publisher=Heinemann | year=1913 | oclc=847989316 | url=http://books.scholarsportal.info/viewdoc.html?id=/ebooks/oca4/6/deofficiiswithen00ciceuoft | language=la | access-date=2019-09-07|page=267}}</ref>}}

==Religion==
===Judaism===
{{main|Loans and interest in Judaism}}

The book of [[Deuteronomy]] prohibits Jews from charging interest except when making loans to foreigners. Typically, a loan is considered a form of '''''Tzedakah''''' or '''''Ṣedaqah''''' ({{Langx|he|צדקה}} [[Help:IPA/Hebrew|[ts(e)daˈka]]]), a Hebrew word meaning "righteousness" but commonly used to signify ''[[Charity (practice)|charity]]''. (This concept of "charity" differs from the modern Western understanding of "charity". The latter is typically understood as a spontaneous act of goodwill and a marker of generosity; ''tzedakah'' is an ethical obligation.) In the [[Rabbinic Judaism|Rabbinic period]], the practice of charging interest to non-Jews has been restricted to cases when there is no other means of subsistence.<ref>{{cite web |last=Robinson |first=George |title=Interest-Free Loans in Judaism |url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ethics/Business_Ethics/In_Practice/Business_Ethics_and_Jewish_Law/Usury_and_Moneylending/Interest-Free_Loans.shtml |access-date=12 March 2015}}</ref> "If we nowadays allow interest to be taken from non-Jews, it is because there is no end to the yoke and the burden king and ministers impose on us, and everything we take is the minimum for our subsistence, and anyhow we are condemned to live in the midst of the [[Goy|nations]] and cannot earn our living in any other manner except by money dealings with them; therefore the taking of interest is not to be prohibited" (Tos. to BM 70b S.V. tashikh).<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|title=Jewish Virtual Library|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/usury}}</ref>

This is outlined in the [[Jewish]] [[scripture]]s, specifically in the [[Torah]]:

{{quote|If thou lend money to any of My people, even to the poor with thee, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; neither shall ye lay upon him interest.<ref>{{bibleverse|Exodus|22:25|JPS}}</ref>}}
{{quote|Take thou no interest of him or increase; but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy victuals for increase.<ref>{{bibleverse|Leviticus|25:36-37|JPS}}</ref>}}
{{quote|Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother: interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of any thing that is lent upon interest. Unto a foreigner thou mayest lend upon interest; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest; that the {{Lord}} thy God may bless thee in all that thou puttest thy hand unto, in the land whither thou goest in to possess it.<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|23:20-21|JPS}}</ref>}}
{{quote|that hath withdrawn his hand from the poor, that hath not received interest nor increase, hath executed Mine ordinances, hath walked in My statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.<ref>{{bibleverse|Ezekiel|18:17|JPS}}</ref>}}
{{quote|In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken interest and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by oppression, and hast forgotten Me, saith the Lord GOD.<ref>{{bibleverse|Ezekiel|22:12|JPS}}</ref>}}
{{quote|Then I consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the rulers, and said unto them: 'Ye lend upon pledge, every one to his brother.' And I held a great assembly against them.<ref>{{bibleverse|Nehemiah|5:7|JPS}}</ref>}}
{{quote|He that putteth not out his money on interest, nor taketh a bribe against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.<ref>{{bibleverse|Psalm|15:5|JPS}}</ref>}}

Johnson contends that the Torah treats lending as [[philanthropy]] in a poor community whose aim was collective survival, but which is not obliged to be charitable towards outsiders.

{{quote|A great deal of Jewish legal scholarship in the Early and High Middle Ages was devoted to making business dealings fair, honest and efficient.{{sfn|Johnson|1987|page=172}}}}

As Jewish people were ostracized from most professions by local rulers during the Middle Ages, the Western churches and the [[guild]]s,<ref>"Petition of the Jews of Paris, Alsase, and Lorraine to the National Assembly, January 28, 1790." Ed. Hunt, Lynn. ''The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History''. Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1996, p. 96.</ref> they were pushed into marginal occupations considered socially inferior, such as [[tax]] and [[renting|rent]] collecting and moneylending. Natural tensions between creditors and debtors were added to social, political, religious, and economic strains.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a7d42dc6-3604-11e5-b05b-b01debd57852 |title=Christian approach to usury forced Jews into money lending |last=Cooper |first=Zaki |date=31 July 2015 |website=[[Financial Times]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20171027080253/https://www.ft.com/content/a7d42dc6-3604-11e5-b05b-b01debd57852 |archive-date=27 October 2017 |access-date=19 January 2020 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

{{quote|...financial oppression of Jews tended to occur in areas where they were most disliked, and if Jews reacted by concentrating on moneylending to non-Jews, the unpopularity—and so, of course, the pressure—would increase. Thus the Jews became an element in a vicious circle. The Christians, on the basis of the Biblical rulings, condemned interest-taking absolutely, and from [[Third Council of the Lateran|1179]] those who practised it were [[excommunication|excommunicated]]. Catholic autocrats frequently imposed the harshest financial burdens on the Jews. The Jews reacted by engaging in the one business where Christian laws actually discriminated in their favor, and became identified with the hated trade of moneylending.{{sfn|Johnson|1987|page=174}}}}

Several historical rulings in [[Halakha|Jewish law]] have mitigated the allowances for usury toward non-Jews. For instance, the 15th-century commentator [[Isaac Abarbanel|Rabbi Isaac Abarbanel]] specified that the rubric for allowing interest does not apply to Christians or Muslims, because their faith systems have a common ethical basis originating from Judaism. The medieval commentator [[David Kimhi|Rabbi David Kimhi]] extended this principle to non-Jews who show consideration for Jews, saying they should be treated with the same consideration when they borrow.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/moneylending|title=Encyclopedia Judaica: Moneylending|date=2008|website=Jewish Virtual Library|access-date=October 16, 2017}}</ref>

=== Christianity ===
[[File:Christ_drives_the_Usurers_out_of_the_Temple.jpg|thumb|upright|''Christ Drives the Usurers Out of the Temple'', a woodcut by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]] in ''Passionary of Christ and Antichrist''<ref>The references cited in the Passionary for this woodcut: {{bibleverse|1|John|2:14–16|9}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|10:8|9}}, and [http://www.bookofconcord.com/defense_6_church.php The Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 8, Of the Church] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715152441/http://www.bookofconcord.com/defense_6_church.php |date=2010-07-15 }}</ref>]]

====Bible====
The [[Old Testament]] "condemns the practice of charging interest on a poor person because a loan should be an act of compassion and taking care of one’s neighbor"; it teaches that "making a profit off a loan from a poor person is exploiting that person (Exodus 22:25–27)."<ref name="Considine2016">{{cite magazine |last1=Considine |first1=Kevin P. |date=April 2016 |title=Is it sinful to charge interest on a loan? |magazine=[[Claretians#Publications|U.S. Catholic]] |volume=81 |number=4 |page=49 |url=https://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201603/it-sinful-charge-interest-loan-30591 |access-date=4 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Similarly, charging of interest ({{Langx|he|נֶֽשֶׁךְ|nešeḵ}}) or the taking of clothing as pledges is condemned in [[Ezekiel 18]] (early 6th century BC),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theologyofwork.org/old-testament/ezekiel/ezekiel-18/principle-3he-does-not-take-advance-or-accrued-interest-ezek-188a|title=Ezekiel 18:8a - The Righteous Man Does Not Take Advance or Accrued Interest|first=Theology of|last=Work|website=www.theologyofwork.org}}</ref> and [[Deuteronomy]] 23:19 prohibits the taking of interest in the form of money or food when lending to a "brother".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2018/what-does-the-old-testament-say-about-loans-and-interest-part-3|title=What does the Old Testament say about Loans and Interest? Part 3|website=The Good Book Blog - Biola University Blogs|date=2 January 2018 }}</ref>

The [[New Testament]] in Luke 6:34-36, likewise teaches giving rather than loaning money to those who need it:
"And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

====Church councils====
The [[First Council of Nicaea]], in 325, forbade [[clergy]] from engaging in usury<ref name="m6">{{cite journal|page=6|jstor=3161033|title=The Christianization of Interest|journal=Church History|volume=3|issue=1|year=1934|last1=Moehlman|first1=Conrad Henry|s2cid=162381369|author-link=Conrad Henry Moehlman |doi=10.2307/3161033 }}</ref>
{{Quote|Forasmuch as many enrolled among the Clergy, following covetousness and lust of gain, have forgotten the divine Scripture, which says, "''He has not given his money upon usury''" [Ezek. xviii, 8], and in lending money ask the hundredth of the sum [as monthly interest], the holy and great Synod thinks it just that if after this decree any one be found to receive usury, whether he accomplish it by secret transaction or otherwise, as by demanding the whole and one half, or by using any other contrivance whatever for filthy lucre's sake, he shall be deposed from the clergy and his name stricken from the list. (canon 17).<ref name="Nicea I">{{cite web|title=First Council of Nicea (A.D. 325)|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3801.htm| access-date = September 4, 2019 |publisher=New Advent|website=newadvent.org}}</ref> [bracketed material in source]}}

At the time, usury was [[interest]] of any kind, and the canon forbade the clergy to lend money at interest rates even as low as 1 percent per year. Later [[ecumenical council]]s applied this regulation to the [[laity]].<ref name="m6"/><ref name="noonan">Noonan, John T., Jr. 1993. "Development of Moral Doctrine." 54 Theological Stud. 662.</ref>

[[Third Council of the Lateran|Lateran III]] decreed that persons who accepted interest on loans could receive neither the [[sacrament]]s nor Christian burial.<ref>Moehlman, 1934, pp. 6–7.</ref> 
{{Quote|Nearly everywhere the crime of usury has become so firmly rooted that many, omitting other business, practise usury as if it were permitted, and in no way observe how it is forbidden in both the Old and New Testament. We therefore declare that '''''notorious'' usurers''' should not be admitted to communion of the altar or receive christian burial if they die in this sin. Whoever receives them or gives them christian burial should be compelled to give back what he has received, and let him remain suspended from the performance of his office until he has made satisfaction according to the judgment of his own bishop. (canon 25)<ref name="Lateran III">{{cite web|title=Third Lateran Council – 1179 A.D. – Papal Encyclicals|url=http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum11.htm| access-date = September 4, 2019 |publisher=Papal Encyclicals Online|website=papalencyclicals.net|date=March 5, 1179}}</ref> [emphasis in source]}}

The [[Council of Vienne]] made the belief in the right to usury a [[heresy]] in 1311, and condemned all secular legislation that allowed it.
{{Quote|Serious suggestions have been made to us that communities in certain places, to the divine displeasure and injury of the neighbour, in violation of both divine and human law, approve of usury. By their statutes, sometimes confirmed by oath, they not only grant that usury may be demanded and paid, but deliberately compel debtors to pay it. By these statutes they impose heavy burdens on those claiming the return of usurious payments, employing also various pretexts and ingenious frauds to hinder the return. We, therefore, wishing to get rid of these pernicious practices, decree with the approval of the sacred council that all the magistrates, captains, rulers, consuls, judges, counsellors or any other officials of these communities who presume in the future to make, write or dictate such statutes, or knowingly decide that usury be paid or, if paid, that it be not fully and freely restored when claimed, incur the sentence of excommunication. They shall also incur the same sentence unless within three months they delete from the books of their communities, if they have the power, statutes of this kind hitherto published, or if they presume to observe in any way these statutes or customs. Furthermore, since money-lenders for the most part enter into usurious contracts so frequently with secrecy and guile that they can be convicted only with difficulty, we decree that they be compelled by ecclesiastical censure to open their account books, when there is question of usury. If indeed someone has fallen into the error of presuming to affirm pertinaciously that the practice of usury is not sinful, we decree that he is to be punished as a heretic; and we strictly enjoin on local ordinaries and inquisitors of heresy to proceed against those they find suspect of such error as they would against those suspected of heresy. (canon 29)<ref name="Vienne">{{cite web|title=Council of Vienne –1311–1312 A.D. – Papal Encyclicals|url=http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum15.htm| access-date = September 5, 2019 |publisher=Papal Encyclicals Online|website=papalencyclicals.net|date=October 16, 1311}}</ref>}}

Up to the 16th century, usury was condemned by the Catholic Church. During the [[Fifth Lateran Council]], in the 10th session (in the year 1515), the Council for the first time{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} gave a definition of usury:
{{Quote|For, that is the real meaning of usury: when, from its use, a thing which produces nothing is applied to the acquiring of gain and profit without any work, any expense or any risk.<ref name="Lateran5">{{cite web|title=Fifth Lateran Council 1512–17 A.D. – Papal Encyclicals|url=https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum18.htm|access-date=September 11, 2019|publisher=Papal Encyclicals Online|website=papalencyclicals.net|date=May 4, 1515}}</ref>}}
The Fifth Lateran Council, in the same declaration, gave explicit approval of charging a fee for services ''so long as no profit was made'' in the case of [[Mount of Piety|Mounts of Piety]]:
{{Quote|(...) We declare and define, with the approval of the Sacred Council, that the above-mentioned credit organisations, established by states and hitherto approved and confirmed by the authority of the Apostolic See, do not introduce any kind of evil or provide any incentive to sin if they receive, in addition to the capital, a moderate sum for their expenses and by way of compensation, provided it is intended exclusively to defray the expenses of those employed and of other things pertaining (as mentioned) to the upkeep of the organizations, and provided that no profit is made therefrom. They ought not, indeed, to be condemned in any way. Rather, such a type of lending is meritorious and should be praised and approved. It certainly should not be considered as usurious; (...)<ref name="Lateran5"/>}}

[[Pope Sixtus V]] condemned the practice of charging interest as "detestable to God and man, damned by the sacred canons, and contrary to Christian charity.{{sfn|Moehlman|1934|p=7}}

==== Medieval theology <span class="anchor" id="Scholastic theology"></span>====
The first of the [[Scholastic theology|scholastic]] Christian theologians, [[Saint Anselm of Canterbury]], led the shift in thought that labelled charging interest the same as theft.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} Previously usury had been seen as a lack of [[Charity (virtue)|charity]].

St. [[Thomas Aquinas]], the leading scholastic theologian of the [[Catholic Church]], argued charging of interest is wrong because it amounts to "double charging", charging for both the thing and the use of the thing. Aquinas said this would be morally wrong in the same way as if one sold a bottle of wine, charged for the bottle of wine, and then charged for the person using the wine to actually drink it.<ref>Thomas Aquinas. [[Summa Theologica]], "Of Cheating, Which Is Committed in Buying and Selling." Translated by The Fathers of the English Dominican Province. pp. 1–10 [http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ECON301-2.1.2-2nd.pdf] Retrieved June 19, 2012</ref> Similarly, one cannot charge for a piece of cake and for the eating of the piece of cake. Yet this, said Aquinas, is what usury does. Money is a medium of exchange, and is used up when it is spent. To charge for the money and for its use (by spending) is therefore to charge for the money twice. It is also to sell time since the usurer charges, in effect, for the time that the money is in the hands of the borrower. Time, however, is not a commodity for which anyone can charge. In condemning usury Aquinas was much influenced by the recently rediscovered philosophical writings of [[Aristotle]] and his desire to assimilate [[Greek philosophy]] with [[Christian theology]]. Aquinas argued that in the case of usury, as in other aspects of Christian revelation, Christian doctrine is reinforced by Aristotelian [[natural law]] rationalism. Aristotle's argument is that interest is unnatural, since money, as a sterile element, cannot naturally reproduce itself. Thus, usury conflicts with natural law just as it offends Christian revelation: see [[Thought of Thomas Aquinas]]. As such, Aquinas taught "that interest is inherently unjust and one who charges interest sins."<ref name="Considine2016"/>
[[File:Bernardino da Siena – Tractatus de contractis et usuris, 15th-century manuscript – BEIC 10592116.jpg|thumb|upright|[[St. Bernardino of Siena]], treatise on contracts and usury (''Tractatus de contractis et usuris''), manuscript, 15th century]]

Outlawing usury did not prevent investment, but stipulated that in order for the investor to share in the profit he must share the risk. In short he must be a joint-venturer. Simply to invest the money and expect it to be returned regardless of the success of the venture was to make money simply by having money and not by taking any risk or by doing any work or by any effort or sacrifice at all, which is usury. St Thomas quotes Aristotle as saying that "to live by usury is exceedingly unnatural". St Thomas allows, however, charges for actual services provided. Thus a banker or credit-lender could charge for such actual work or effort as he did carry out e.g. any fair administrative charges. The Catholic Church, in a decree of the [[Fifth Council of the Lateran]], expressly allowed such charges in respect of credit-unions run for the benefit of the poor known as "[[montes pietatis]]".<ref>{{cite conference | url = http://www.intratext.com/ixt/ENG0067/_PE.HTM | title = Session Ten: On the reform of credit organisations (Montes pietatis) | conference = [[Fifth Lateran Council]] | publisher = [[Catholic Church]] | date = 4 May 1515 | access-date = 2008-04-05 | location = [[Rome]], [[Italy]]}}</ref>

In the 13th century [[Henry of Segusio|Cardinal Hostiensis]] enumerated thirteen situations in which charging interest was not immoral.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Roover | first = Raymond | title = The Scholastics, Usury, and Foreign Exchange | journal =  Business History Review |date=Autumn 1967 | volume = 41 | doi = 10.2307/3112192 | pages = 257–271 | jstor = 3112192 | issue = 3 | publisher = The Business History Review, Vol. 41, No. 3 | s2cid = 154706783 }}</ref> The most important of these was ''lucrum cessans'' (profits given up) which allowed for the lender to charge interest "to compensate him for profit foregone in investing the money himself."{{cn|date=February 2024}} This idea is very similar to opportunity cost. Many scholastic thinkers who argued for a ban on interest charges also argued for the legitimacy of ''lucrum cessans'' profits (e.g. [[Pierre Jean Olivi]] and [[St. Bernardino of Siena]]). However, Hostiensis' exceptions, including for ''lucrum cessans'', were never accepted as official by the Catholic Church.

[[Pope Benedict XIV]]'s encyclical ''[[Vix Pervenit]]'' (1745), operating in the pre-industrial mindset{{POV statement|date=September 2019}} {{Original research inline|date=September 2019}}, gives the reasons why usury is sinful:<ref>See also: [http://cuapress.cua.edu/books/viewbook.cfm?book=XMCU ''Church and the Usurers: Unprofitable Lending for the Modern Economy''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017131122/http://cuapress.cua.edu/books/viewbook.cfm?book=XMCU |date=2015-10-17 }} by [http://en.gloria.tv/?media=444192 Dr. Brian McCall] or [https://www.scribd.com/doc/138347161/Bernard-W-Dempsey-1903-1960-Interest-and-Usury-With-an-Introduction-by-Joseph-a-Schumpeter-1948 ''Interest and Usury''] by [https://www.jstor.org/stable/29769582 Fr. Bernard W. Dempsey, S.J.] (1903–1960).</ref>
<blockquote>The nature of the sin called usury has its proper place and origin in a loan contract... [which] demands, by its very nature, that one return to another only as much as he has received. The sin rests on the fact that sometimes the creditor desires more than he has given..., but any gain which exceeds the amount he gave is illicit and usurious.<br /><br />One cannot condone the sin of usury by arguing that the gain is not great or excessive, but rather moderate or small; neither can it be condoned by arguing that the borrower is rich; nor even by arguing that the money borrowed is not left idle, but is spent usefully...<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben14/b14vixpe.htm|title=Vix Pervenit – Papal Encyclicals|date=1 November 1745}}</ref></blockquote>

==== 15th through 19th century ====
[[Martin Luther]] opposed several forms of usury, publishing and republishing multiple treatises on the subject. Christians, Luther argued, should not act in self-defense, should give when asked, and in the lowest degree should lend, expecting nothing in return. On those grounds, making a loan with anticipated profits (and with required repayment and hence little risk for the lender) is a form of self-service that goes against love of neighbor. Defining "lend" as lending without interest or fee, Luther encourages lending for the purpose of aiding the borrower.<ref>{{cite book |last= Brandt |first= Walther |title= "Introduction: Trade and Usury" in Luther's Works |volume= 45 |publisher= Muhlenberg Press |location=Philadelphia |year=  1962 |page= 233 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Astorri |first= Paolo  |title= Lutheran Theology and Contract Law in Early Modern Germany |publisher= Brill |year=  2019 |pages= 327–355}}</ref>

The [[Westminster Larger Catechism]], part of the [[Westminster Standards]] held as doctrinal documents by [[Presbyterian]] churches, teaches that usury is a [[sin in Christianity|sin]] prohibited by the [[Ten Commandments|eighth commandment]].<ref name="Cox1853">{{cite book |last1=Cox |first1=Robert |title=Sabbath Laws and Sabbath Duties: Considered in Relation to Their Natural and Scriptural Grounds, and to the Principles of Religious Liberty |date=1853 |publisher=Maclachlan and Stewart |page=180 |language=en}}</ref>

Concerns about usury included the 19th century [[Rothschild loans to the Holy See]] and 16th century concerns over abuse of the [[zinskauf]] clause.<ref>See Martin Luther's ''[http://www.godrules.net/library/luther/NEW1luther_d1.htm Sermon on Trading and Usury]''</ref> This was problematic because the charging of interest (although not all interest – see above for [[Fifth Lateran Council]]) can be argued to be a violation of doctrine at the time, such as that reflected in the 1745 encyclical ''Vix pervenit''. To prevent any claims of doctrine violation, work-arounds would sometimes be employed. For example, in the 15th century, the [[Medici Bank]] lent money to the Vatican, which was lax about repayment. Rather than charging interest, "the Medici overcharged the pope on the silks and brocades, the jewels and other commodities they supplied."<ref>"The presence among the assets of [[silver plate]] for an amount of more than 4,000 florins reveals at any rate that the Rome branch dealt more or less extensively in this product for which there was a demand among the high churchmen of the Curia who did a great deal of entertaining and liked to display their magnificence." p. 205, also see p. 199, {{citation
 |last=de Roover <!-- (1904–1972) -->
 |first=Raymond Adrien
 |year=1948
 |title=The Medici Bank: its organization, management, and decline
 |place=New York; London
 |publisher=[[New York University Press]]; [[Oxford University Press]] (respectively)
 }}</ref> 

==== 20th century ====
The [[1917 Code of Canon Law]] instructed church administrators to set aside funds to be "invested profitably".<ref>T.L. Bouscaren and A.C. Ellis. 1957. ''Canon Law: A Text and Commentary''. p. 826.</ref> It permitted lending with interest under normal legal conditions as long as excessive interest was not charged.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bachofen |first=Charles Augustine |title=A Commentary On the New Code of Canon Law |publisher=B. Herder Book Co. |year=1921 |volume=VI |location=St. Louis, Mo |pages=609}}</ref>

{{Quote|text=§1543: If a fungible thing is given to another so that it becomes his, and later it must be restored in the same sort, no profit can by made by reason of the contract; but in the loan of a fungible thing, it is not by itself illicit to reap a legal profit, unless it can be shown to be immoderate of itself, and even greater profit [can be made] if there is a just and proportionate title so supporting.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peters |first=Edward N. |title=The 1917 or Pio-Benedictine code of canon law: in English translation with extensive scholarly apparatus |date=2001 |publisher=Ignatius press |others=Église catholique |isbn=978-0-89870-831-8 |location=San Francisco (Calif.)}}</ref>}}

The Catholic Church has always condemned usury, but in modern times, with the rise of [[capitalism]], the previous assumptions about the very nature of money have been challenged, and the Church had to update its understanding of what constitutes usury to also include the new reality.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Palm |first1=David, J. |title=The Red Herring of Usury |url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=646 |website=Catholic Culture.org |access-date=11 September 2019}}</ref> Thus, the Church refers, among other things, to the fact [[Mosaic Law]] does not ban all interest taking<ref>Deuteronomy 23:19–20</ref> (proving interest-taking is not an inherently immoral act, same principle as with [[homicide]]), as well as the prevalence of bonds and loans paying interest. Because of this, as the old [[Catholic Encyclopedia]] put it, "Since the possession of an object is generally useful, I may require the price of that general utility, even when the object is of no use to me."<ref name="CathEnUsury">{{cite encyclopedia | title=Usury | encyclopedia=[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]] | last=Vermeersch | first=Arthur |editor-last=Herbermann | editor-first=Charles G.| volume=15 | publisher=Robert Appleton Company | location = New York | date=1912 | url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15235c.htm }}</ref>

[[Jesuit]] philosopher [[Joseph Rickaby]], writing at the beginning of the 20th century, put the development of economy in relation to usury this way:
{{Quote|In great cities commerce rapidly ripened, and was well on towards maturity five centuries ago. Then the conditions that render interest lawful, and mark if off from usury, readily came to obtain. But those centres were isolated. (...) Here you might have a great city, Hamburg or Genoa, an early type of commercial enterprise, and, fifty miles inland, society was in infancy, and the great city was as part of another world. Hence the same transaction, as described by the letter of the law, might mean lawful interest in the city, and usury out in the country – the two were so disconnected.<ref name="Rickaby_usury_13">{{cite book |last1=Rickaby |first1=Joseph |title=Moral Philosophy: Ethics, Deontology and Natural Law |date=1918 |publisher=Longmans, Green, and Co. |location=London, New York [etc.] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/moralphilosophye00rick/page/262 262]–263 |url=https://archive.org/details/moralphilosophye00rick |access-date=14 September 2019}}</ref>}}
He further gave the following view of the development of Catholic practice:
{{Quote|In such a situation the legislator has to choose between forbidding interest here and allowing usury there; between restraining speculation and licensing oppression. The mediaeval legislator chose the former alternative. Church and State together enacted a number of laws to restrain the taking of interest, laws that, like the clothes of infancy, are not to be scorned as absurd restrictions, merely because they are inapplicable now, and would not fit the modern growth of nations. At this day the State has repealed those laws, and the Church has officially signified that she no longer insists on them. Still she maintains dogmatically that there is such a sin as usury, and what it is, as defined in the Fifth Council of Lateran.<ref name="Rickaby_usury_13"/>}}

==== Modern era ====
The [[Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary]], a Catholic Christian [[religious order]], teaches that the charging of interest is [[sin in Christianity|sinful]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} Theology professor Kevin Considine argues that usury remains a sin if it takes advantage of the needy or where the source of the interest is sinful:<ref name="Considine2016"/>

{{quotation|It might initially seem like little is at stake when it comes to interest, but this is an issue of human dignity. A person is made in [[Imago Dei|God's own image]] and therefore may never be treated as a thing. Interest can diminish the human person to a thing to be manipulated for money. In an article for The Catholic Worker, [[Dorothy Day]] articulated this well: "Can I talk about the people living off usury ... not knowing the way that their infertile money has bred more money by wise investment in God knows what devilish [[nerve gas]], drugs, [[napalm]], missiles, or vanities, when housing and employment ... for the poor were needed, and money could have been invested there?" Her thoughts were a precursor to what [[Pope Francis]] now calls an "economy that kills." To sin is to say "no" to God and God's presence by harming others, ourselves, or all of creation. Charging interest is indeed sinful when doing so takes advantage of a person in need as well as when it means investing in corporations involved in the harming of God's creatures.<ref name="Considine2016"/>}}

===Islam===
{{Main|Riba|Islamic banking and finance}}

[[Riba]] (usury) is forbidden in Islam. As such, specialized codes of banking have developed to cater to investors wishing to obey [[Sharia|Qur'anic law]]. ''(See [[Islamic banking]])''

The following quotations are English translations from the [[Qur'an]]:<ref>Pickthall, M (1930). ''The Meaning of the Glorious Koran''. Alfred A. Knopf.</ref>

<blockquote>Those who consume interest will stand (on Judgment Day) like those driven to madness by Satan’s touch. That is because they say, "Trade is no different than interest." But Allah has permitted trading and forbidden interest. Whoever refrains—after having received warning from their Lord—may keep their previous gains, and their case is left to Allah. As for those who persist, it is they who will be the residents of the Fire. They will be there forever. (''Al-Baqarah 2:275'')
</blockquote>

<blockquote>Allah has made interest fruitless and charity fruitful. And Allah does not like any ungrateful evildoer. Indeed, those who believe, do good, establish prayer, and pay alms-tax will receive their reward from their Lord, and there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve. O believers! Fear Allah, and give up outstanding interest if you are (true) believers. If you do not, then beware of a war with Allah and His Messenger! But if you repent, you may retain your principal—neither inflicting nor suffering harm. If it is difficult for someone to repay a debt, postpone it until a time of ease. And if you waive it as an act of charity, it will be better for you, if only you knew. (''Al-Baqarah 2:276–280'')
</blockquote>

<blockquote>O believers! Do not consume interest, multiplying it many times over. And be mindful of Allah, so you may prosper. (''Al-'Imran 3:130'')
</blockquote>

<blockquote>We forbade the Jews certain foods that had been lawful to them for their wrongdoing, and for hindering many from the Way of Allah, taking interest despite its prohibition, and consuming people’s wealth unjustly. We have prepared for the disbelievers among them a painful punishment. (''Al-Nisa 4:160–161'')
</blockquote>

<blockquote>Whatever loans you give, seeking interest at the expense of people’s wealth, will not increase with Allah. But whatever charity you give, seeking the pleasure of Allah—it is they whose reward will be multiplied. (''Ar-Rum 30:39'')
</blockquote>

The attitude of [[Muhammad]] to usury is articulated in his [[Farewell Sermon|Last Sermon]]:<ref>''[[Sahih Muslim]]'', book 15 (The Book of Pilgrimage), [http://sunnah.com/muslim/15/159 hadith 159].</ref><blockquote>Verily your blood, your property are as sacred and inviolable as the sacredness of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this town of yours. Behold! Everything pertaining to the [[Jahiliyyah|Days of Ignorance]] is under my feet completely abolished. Abolished are also the blood-revenges of the Days of Ignorance. The first claim of ours on blood-revenge which I abolish is that of the son of [[Rabi'ah ibn al-Harith|Rabi'a b. al-Harith]], who was nursed among the tribe of Sa'd and killed by Hudhail. And the '''usury''' of the pre-Islamic period is abolished, and the first of our usury I abolish is that of [[Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib|'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib]], for it is all abolished.</blockquote>One of the forbidden usury models in Islam is to take advantage when lending money. Examples of forbidden loans, such as a person borrowing 1000 dollars and the borrower is required to return 1100 dollars. The above agreement is a form of transaction which is a burden for people who borrow, because in Islam, lending and borrowing are social transactions aimed at helping others, not like a sale and purchase agreement that is allowed to be profitable. Hence, a rule of thumb used by Islamic scholars is, "Every loan (qardh) which gives additional benefits is called usury."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://salikun.com/fiqih/hukum-hadiah-atau-tambahan-dalam-hutang-piutang/|title=Hukum Hadiah atau Tambahan dalam Hutang Piutang|date=2020-03-19|website=Salikun.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-21|archive-date=2021-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202163430/https://salikun.com/fiqih/hukum-hadiah-atau-tambahan-dalam-hutang-piutang/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==In literature==
In ''[[The Divine Comedy]]'', [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] places the usurers in the inner ring of the seventh circle of hell.

Interest on loans, and the contrasting views on the morality of that practice held by Jews and Christians, is central to the plot of Shakespeare's play ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]''. Antonio is the merchant of the title, a Christian, who is forced by circumstance to borrow money from [[Shylock]], a Jew. Shylock customarily charges interest on loans, seeing it as good business, while Antonio does not, viewing it as morally wrong. When Antonio defaults on his loan, Shylock famously demands the agreed upon penalty: a measured quantity of muscle from Antonio's chest. This is the source of the metaphorical phrase "a pound of flesh" often used to describe the dear price of a loan or business transaction. Shakespeare's play is a vivid portrait of the competing views of loans and use of interest, as well as the cultural strife between Jews and Christians that overlaps it.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

By the 18th century, usury was more often treated as a metaphor than a crime in itself, so [[Jeremy Bentham]]'s ''Defence of Usury'' was not as shocking as it would have appeared two centuries earlier.

In [[Honoré de Balzac]]'s 1830 novel ''[[Gobseck]]'', the title character, who is a usurer, is described as both "petty and great – a miser and a philosopher..."<ref>{{cite wikisource | title=Gobseck |author=[[Honoré de Balzac]] |year=1830 |translator=Ellen Marriage}}</ref> The character [[Quilp|Daniel Quilp]] in ''[[The Old Curiosity Shop]]'' by [[Charles Dickens]] is a usurer.

In the early 20th century [[Ezra Pound]]'s [[The Cantos#XLII–LI (Fifth Decad, called also Leopoldine Cantos)|anti-usury poetry]] was not primarily based on the [[natural law|moral injustice]] of interest payments but on the fact that excess capital was no longer devoted to artistic [[patronage]], as it could now be used for [[capitalism|capitalist]] business investment.<ref>[http://www.englit.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergrd/american_lit_2/Handouts/cmc_pound.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060105184644/http://www.englit.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergrd/american_lit_2/Handouts/cmc_pound.htm|date=January 5, 2006}}</ref>

==Usury law==

=== England ===
[[Image:Magna_Carta_(British_Library_Cotton_MS_Augustus_II.106).jpg|thumb|''[[Magna Carta]]'' commands, "If any one has taken anything, whether much or little, by way of loan from Jews, and if he dies before that debt is paid, the debt shall not carry usury so long as the heir is under age, from whomsoever he may hold. And if that debt falls into our hands, we will take only the principal contained in the note."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.constitution.org/sech/sech_044.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017033158/http://www.constitution.org/sech/sech_044.htm|url-status=dead|title=Sources of English Constitutional History: Chapter 44|archive-date=October 17, 2007|website=www.constitution.org}}</ref>]]

"When money is lent on a contract to receive not only the principal sum again, but also an increase by way of compensation for the use, the increase is called ''interest'' by those who ''think'' it lawful, and ''usury'' by those who do not." ([[William Blackstone]]'s ''[[Commentaries on the Laws of England]]'').

===Canada===
On the federal level, Canada's Criminal Code limits the interest rate to 60% per year.<ref>{{Cite canlaw
|short title  = Criminal Interest Rate
|abbr         = R.S.C.
|year         = 1985
|chapter      = C-46
|section      = 347
|link         = https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/page-77.html#h-122004
|linkloc      = Canada Dept Of Justice
|wikilink     = Criminal Interest Rate
|amended1     = 1992, c. 1, s. 60(F)
|amended2     = 2007, c. 9, s. 1
}}</ref>
The law is broadly written and Canada's courts have often intervened to remove ambiguity.<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = https://www.ulcc.ca/en/annual-meetings/306-2002-yellowknife-nt/civil-section-documents/1212-section-347-of-the-criminal-code
 |title        = Section 347 of the Criminal Code: A Deeply Problematic Law
 |first        = Mary Anne
 |last         = Waldron
 |year         = 2011
 |publisher    = Uniform Law Conference of Canada
 |access-date  = 2019-01-16
 |archive-date = 2021-05-14
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20210514012031/https://www.ulcc.ca/en/annual-meetings/306-2002-yellowknife-nt/civil-section-documents/1212-section-347-of-the-criminal-code
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> In Quebec, the maximum annual interest rate allowed by law is 35%.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Agent QMI |title=Des taux d'intérêt astronomiques |url=https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2013/12/06/des-taux-dinteret-astronomiques |website=Le Journal de Montréal |access-date=7 September 2023 |date=6 December 2013}}</ref>

===Hong Kong===
The Money Lenders Ordinance (Cap. 163) prohibits lending at an effective interest rate beyond 48% unless exempted.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tsang |first1=Pan |title=Beware of usury and charging excessive interest under the amended Money Lenders Ordinance (Cap. 163) |url=https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=0665bccd-99bf-4295-bc0b-cb8a9fbebc4b |website=Lexology |access-date=7 September 2023 |date=1 March 2023}}</ref> Offenders are liable "on summary conviction to a fine of $500,000 and to imprisonment for 2 years", or "on conviction on indictment to a fine of $5,000,000 and to imprisonment for 10 years".<ref>{{cite web |title=Cap. 163 Money Lenders Ordinance |url=https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap163 |website=Hong Kong e-Legislation |access-date=7 September 2023}}</ref>

===Japan===
Japan has various laws restricting interest rates. Under civil law, the maximum interest rate is between 15% and 20% per year depending upon the principal amount (larger amounts having a lower maximum rate). Interest in excess of 20% is subject to criminal penalties (the criminal law maximum was 29.2% until it was lowered by legislation in 2010).<ref>{{cite web|title=上限金利の引き下げ|url=http://www.0570-051-051.jp/contents/user/4-1.html|publisher=Japan Financial Services Association|access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref> Default interest on late payments may be charged at up to 1.46 times the ordinary maximum (i.e., 21.9% to 29.2%), while [[pawn shop]]s may charge interest of up to 9% per month (i.e., 108% per year, however, if the loan extends more than the normal short-term pawn shop loan, the 9% per month rate compounded can make the annual rate in excess of 180%, before then most of these transaction would result in any goods pawned being forfeited).

===United States===
''Usury laws'' are [[State law (United States)|state law]]s that specify the maximum legal [[interest rate]] at which loans can be made. In the United States, the primary legal power to regulate usury rests primarily with the states. Each [[U.S. state]] has its own [[statute]] that dictates how much interest can be charged before it is considered usurious or unlawful.<ref name="docutech">{{cite web|url=http://www.docutech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Maximum-Interest-Rate-Matrix-2013.pdf|title=Maximum Interest Rate Matrix|date=May 2013|website=docutech|publisher=Docutech Corporation|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>

If a lender charges above the lawful interest rate, a court will not allow the lender to sue to recover the unlawfully high interest, and some states will apply all payments made on the debt to the principal balance. In some states, such as [[New York (state)|New York]], usurious loans are voided ''[[ab initio]]''.<ref>NY Gen Oblig 5-501 ''et seq.'' and NY 1503.</ref>

The making of usurious loans is often called [[loan shark]]ing. That term is sometimes also applied to the practice of making consumer loans without a license in jurisdictions that requires lenders to be licensed.

====Federal regulation====
On a federal level, Congress has never attempted to federally regulate interest rates on purely private transactions, but on the basis of past U.S. Supreme Court decisions, arguably the U.S. Congress might have the power to do so under the interstate [[commerce clause]] of Article I of the Constitution.{{cn|date=May 2024}}

Congress imposed a federal criminal penalty for unlawful interest rates through the [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act]] (RICO Statute), and its definition of "unlawful debt", which makes it a potential federal felony to lend money at an interest rate more than twice the local state usury rate and then try to collect that debt.<ref>{{usc|18|1961}} (6)(B). See generally, [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act]]</ref>

It is a federal offense to use violence or threats to collect usurious interest (or any other sort).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/part-I/chapter-42|title=18 USC Chapter 42: Extortionate Credit Transactions|website=Legal Information Institute|publisher=Cornell Law School|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>

Separate federal rules apply to most banks. The [[U.S. Supreme Court]] held unanimously in the 1978 case, ''[[Marquette Nat. Bank of Minneapolis v. First of Omaha Service Corp.]]'', that the [[National Banking Act]] of 1863 allowed [[Banking in the United States#The dual banking system|nationally chartered banks]] to charge the legal rate of interest in their state regardless of the borrower's state of residence.<ref name="Marquette Bank">''Marquette Nat. Bank of Minneapolis v. First of Omaha Service Corp.'', {{ussc|439|299|1978}}.</ref>

In 1980, Congress passed the [[Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act]].  Among the Act's provisions, it exempted federally chartered savings banks, installment plan sellers and chartered loan companies from state usury limits. Combined with the ''Marquette'' decision that applied to National Banks, this effectively overrode all state and local usury laws.<ref name="docutech" /><ref>[http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/bank/bt_9805.html The Effect of Consumer Interest Rate Deregulation on Credit Card Volumes, Charge-Offs, and the Personal Bankruptcy Rate] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924054000/http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/bank/bt_9805.html|date=2008-09-24}}, [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation]] "Bank Trends" Newsletter, March, 1998.</ref> The 1968 [[Truth in Lending Act]] does not regulate rates, except for some mortgages, but requires uniform or standardized disclosure of costs and charges.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/chapter-41/subchapter-I/part-A|title=15 U.S. Code Part A|website=Legal Information Institute|publisher=Cornell Law School|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>

In the 1996 ''[[Smiley v. Citibank]]'' case, the Supreme Court further limited states' power to regulate credit card fees and extended the reach of the ''Marquette'' decision. The court held that the word "interest" used in the 1863 banking law included fees and, therefore, states could not regulate fees.<ref name="ABA">ABA Journal, March 2010, p. 59</ref>

Some members of Congress have tried to create a federal usury statute that would limit the maximum allowable interest rate, but the measures have not progressed. In July 2010, the [[Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act]], was signed into law by President Obama. The act provides for a [[United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau|Consumer Financial Protection Bureau]] to regulate some credit practices but has no interest rate limit.<ref name="ABA" />

====Texas====
State law in Texas also includes a provision for contracting for, charging, or receiving charges exceeding twice the amount authorized (A/K/A "double usury"). A person who violates this provision is liable to the obligor as an additional penalty for all principal or principal balance, as well as interest or time price differential. A person who is liable is also liable for reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the obligor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/FI/htm/FI.349.htm#349.002|title=FINANCE CODE CHAPTER 349. PENALTIES AND LIABILITIES|website=www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us}}</ref>

==Avoidance mechanisms and interest-free lending==

===Demurrage currency===
{{Main|Demurrage currency}}
Demurrage currency is a type of [[money]] that is designed to gradually lose [[purchasing power]] at a flat constant rate.
The German economist, [[Silvio Gesell]], advocated for demurrage as part of the [[Freiwirtschaft]] economic system.
He referred to demurrage as ''[[Freiwirtschaft#Freigeld|Freigeld]]'' 'free money' — "free" because it would be freed from hoarding and interest.<ref name="baynham-2023">{{cite journal |url=https://www.noemamag.com/what-if-money-expired/ |title=What If Money Expired? |last=Baynham |first=Jacob |date=14 November 2023 |website=Noema Magazine |publisher=Berggruen Institute |access-date=26 April 2025}}</ref><ref name="Gesell-NPR">{{cite web |last=Rosalsky |first=Greg |date=27 August 2019 |title=The 'Strange, Unduly Neglected Prophet' |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/08/27/754323652/the-strange-unduly-neglected-prophet |publisher=NPR |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref>
Gesell theorized that Freigeld would lead to fewer recessions by increasing the [[velocity of money]], eliminating inflation, and creating an interest-free economy without usury.

=== Islamic banking ===
{{Main|Islamic banking}}

In a partnership or joint venture where money is lent, the creditor only provides the capital yet is guaranteed a fixed amount of profit. The debtor, however, puts in time and effort, but is made to bear the risk of loss. Muslim scholars argue that such practice is unjust.<ref>Maududi (1967), vol. i, p. 199</ref> As an alternative to usury, Islam strongly encourages charity and direct investment in which the creditor shares whatever profit or loss the business may incur (in modern terms, this amounts to an equity stake in the business).{{cn|date=May 2024}}

===Interest-free micro-lending===
Growth of the [[Internet]] internationally has enabled both commercial [[microloans | micro-lending]] (through sites such as [[Kickstarter]] – launched in 2009) and global [[micro-lending]] charities (where lenders make small sums of money available on zero-interest terms). Persons lending money to on-line micro-lending charity [[Kiva (organization)|Kiva]] (founded in 2005), for example, do not get paid any interest,<ref>[http://na3.salesforce.com/_ui/selfservice/pkb/PublicKnowledgeSolution/d?orgId=00D500000006svl&id=50150000000IDlS&retURL=%2Fsol%2Fpublic%2Fsolutionbrowser.jsp%3Fsearch%3Dinterest%26cid%3D02n50000000DUOS%26orgId%3D00D500000006svl%26t%3D4&ps=1 Kiva Faq: Will I get interest on my loan?]: "Loans made through Kiva's website do not earn any interest. Kiva's loans are not an investment and are not recommended as an investment."</ref> although Kiva's partners in the country where the loan is used may charge interest to the end-users to whom the loans are made.<ref>[http://www.kiva.org/about/help/questions?subtopic=About%20our%20Field%20Partners#question4 Kiva FAQ: Do Kiva.org's Field Partners charge interest to the entrepreneurs?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411005348/http://www.kiva.org/about/help/questions?subtopic=About%20our%20Field%20Partners#question4 |date=2009-04-11 }}: "Our Field Partners are free to charge interest, but Kiva.org will not partner with an organization that charges exorbitant interest rates."
</ref>

===Non-recourse mortgages===
A [[non-recourse loan]] is secured by the value of property (usually real estate) owned by the debtor. However, unlike other loans, which oblige the debtor to repay the amount borrowed, a non-recourse loan is fully satisfied merely by the transfer of the property to the creditor, even if the property has declined in value and is worth less than the amount borrowed. When such a loan is created, the creditor bears the risk that the property will decline sharply in value (in which case the creditor is repaid with property worth less than the amount borrowed), and the debtor does not bear the risk of decrease in property value (because the debtor is guaranteed the right to use the property, regardless of value, to satisfy the debt.)

===Zinskauf===
{{Main|Zinskauf}}
Zinskauf was a financial instrument, similar to an annuity, that rose to prominence in the Middle Ages.<ref>{{cite book |last=Doherty |first= Sean |title= Theology and Economic Ethics: Martin Luther and Arthur Rich in Dialogue| page= 55}} Accessed on 2 December 2014</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=O'Donovan| first= Oliver|title= From Irenaeus to Grotius: A Sourcebook in Christian Political Thought, 100-1625 | page= 584}}</ref> The decline of the Byzantine Empire led to a growth of capital in Europe, so the Catholic Church tolerated zinskauf as a way to avoid prohibitions on usury. Since zinskauf was an exchange of a fixed amount of money for annual income it was considered a sale rather than a loan. Martin Luther made zinskauf a subject of his Treatise on Usury<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.godrules.net/library/luther/NEW1luther_d4.htm|title=WORKS OF MARTIN LUTHER - A TREATISE ON USURY|website=www.godrules.net}}</ref> and his Sermon on Trade and Usury<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.godrules.net/library/luther/NEW1luther_d2.htm|title=WORKS OF MARTIN LUTHER - ON TRADING AND USURY|website=www.godrules.net}}</ref> and criticized clerics of the Catholic Church for violating the spirit if not the letter of usury laws.

==See also==
* [[Chrematistics]]
* [[Christian finance]]
* [[Contractum trinius]]
* [[Debt-trap diplomacy]]
* [[Greed]]
* [[History of banking]]
* [[History of pawnbroking]]
* [[Loansharking]] (traditional occupation of [[Mafiosi]])
* [[Money changing]]
* [[Payday loan]]s
* [[Predatory lending]]
* [[Credit card interest]]
* [[Title loan]]
* [[Usury Act 1660]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | last=Noonan | first = John T. | author-link=John T. Noonan Jr. | title=The Scholastic Analysis of Usury | publisher=Harvard University Press | location = Cambridge, MA |year=1957 |lccn=57-13463 | asin=B0007DE11O | oclc=169232}}
* {{cite book | last=Bentham | first=Jeremy | author-link=Jeremy Bentham | publisher=Payne and Foss| location = London | year= 1818 | orig-year=1787 | title=Defence of Usury |url=http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/bentham/usury | oclc=5963871 | lccn=ltf90032766 | isbn = 140995188X }}
* Dorin, Rowan (2023). ''No Return: Jews, Christian Usurers, and the Spread of Mass Expulsion in Medieval Europe''. Princeton University Press.
* {{cite book | last=Page | first=Harry | title=In restraint of usury : the lending of money at interest | publisher=CIPFA | location=City | year=1985 | isbn=0-85299-285-8 | oclc=556997937 }}
* {{cite book | last=Nelson | first=Benjamin | title=The idea of usury, from tribal brotherhood to universal otherhood | publisher=University of Chicago Press | location=Chicago | year=1969 | isbn=0-226-57160-2 | oclc=26061 }}
* {{cite book | last=Kennedy | first=Margrit | title=Interest and inflation free money : creating an exchange medium that works for everybody and protects the earth | publisher=New Society Publishers | location=Philadelphia, PA | year=1995 | isbn=0-86571-319-7 | oclc=32201872 }}
* {{cite book | last=Elliot | first=Calvin | title=Usury: A Scriptural, Ethical and Economic View | publisher=The Anti-Usury League | location=Millersburg, OH | year=1902| isbn=1910220590 | url = https://archive.org/details/usuryscripturale00ellirich/page/n1 }}
* {{cite book |last=Swabey |first=Henry |title=Usury and the Church of England |url=https://beyondmoney.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/usury_and_the_church_of_england.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115213726/https://beyondmoney.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/usury_and_the_church_of_england.pdf |archive-date=2019-11-15}}
* {{cite journal | last1=Luther | first1=Martin | author-link1=Martin Luther | translator-last = Carruth | translator-first = W.H. | year = 1897 | orig-year = 1524 | title = On Trade and Usury. A Sermon by Dr. Martin Luther | url = https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ocj/vol1897/iss1/2/ | journal = The Open Court | volume = 1897 | issue = 1 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia | title=Question 78. The sin of usury | last=Aquinas | first = Thomas | author-link = Thomas Aquinas | encyclopedia = Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas | volume = The Second Part of the Second Part | url = http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3078.htm | translator = Fathers of the English Dominican Province | year = 1920 | orig-year = 1272 | language = en | edition = Second and Revised }}
* {{cite encyclopedia | title=Of Usury | last=Bacon | first = Francis |author-link = Francis Bacon | encyclopedia = [[Essays (Francis Bacon)|The Works of Francis Bacon]] | volume=1 | year=1884 | editor-last=Montagu | editor-first = Basil | publisher = R. Worthington | location = New York | orig-year=1625 | url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Works_of_Francis_Bacon,_Volume_1/Essays/Of_Usury }}
* {{ cite journal | last1 = Visser | first1= Wayne A. M. | last2 = McIntosh | first2 = Alastair | date = July 1998 | title = A short review of the historical critique of usury | url = http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/articles/1998_usury.htm | journal = Accounting, Business & Financial History | volume = 8 | issue = 2 | pages = 175–189 | doi =10.1080/095852098330503 | publisher = Routledge | location = London }}
* {{cite encyclopedia | title=Usury | encyclopedia=[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]] | last=Vermeersch | first=Arthur |editor-last=Herbermann | editor-first=Charles G.| volume=15 | publisher=Robert Appleton Company | location = New York | date=1912 | url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15235c.htm }}
* {{cite encyclopedia | title=Usury | encyclopedia=[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]] | last1= Dembitz | first1= Lewis N. | last2 = Jacobs | first2 = Joseph | editor-last1=Singer | editor-first1 = Isidore|volume = 12 | publisher= Funk & Wagnalls | location = New York | pages = 388–391 |date=1906 | url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14615-usury }}
* {{cite encyclopedia | title=Usury | encyclopedia=[[Christian Cyclopedia|The Concordia Cyclopedia]] | last1=Fuerbringer| first1=L. | last2=Engelder| first2=TH. | last3=Kretzmann | first3=P. E. | publisher=Concordia Publishing House | location = St. Louis, Mo. | date=1927 | url = https://archive.org/details/Concordia_Cyclopedia_1927/page/n801 | page = 796|id=ark:/13960/t6q008m7q }}
* {{cite encyclopedia | title=Usury | last = Jones | first = Norman | encyclopedia = EH.Net Encyclopedia of Economic and Business History | editor-last = Whaples | editor-first = Robert | url = http://eh.net/encyclopedia/usury/ | publisher = [[Economic History Association]] | date = 2008-02-10  }}
* Koehler, B. (2023). [https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12599 The Talmud on usury]. Economic Affairs, 43(3), 423–435.

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wiktionary|usury}}
{{commons category}}

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051211153159/http://degenhart.us/blog/?p=106 What Love Is This? A Renunciation of the Economics of Calvinism]. The House of Degenhart.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051024115831/http://littlegeneva.com/docs/North.pdf S.C. Mooney's Response to Dr. Gary North's critique of Usury: Destroyer of Nations]
*[http://www.islamic-finance.com/item5_f.htm What is Riba: Islamic definition of Usury]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070427090829/http://www.usurylaw.com/ Usury laws by state.]
*[http://www.heretical.com/miscellx/usury.html Origin of Modern Banking and Usury in Britain]. Heretical.com
*[https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/waytoend.html#ch4 Buddha on Right Livelihood and Usury]
*[https://www.democracynow.org/2009/3/24/thomas_geoghegan_on_infinite_debt_how Thomas Geoghegan on "Infinite Debt: How Unlimited Interest Rates Destroyed the Economy"]

{{Debt}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Usury| ]]
[[Category:Medieval economic history]]
[[Category:Economic bubbles]]
[[Category:Property crimes]]
[[Category:Negative Mitzvoth]]