The Business of Religion

This article is based on the examination of religion as a social practice. This approach to the history of the eighteenth-century Church of Scotland leads to the uncovering of extensive practices of lending on bond by local church bodies. Two implications of this are analysed in the article: light is shed on the debate about Protestantism and lending at interest; and connections between church bodies and nascent Scottish enterprises are indicated. The article starts by outlining the structure and governance practices of the Church, with particular emphasis on its corporate form and the extensive record keeping which supplies the evidence base for the discussion. There follows a review of the historiography of Protestantism and lending at interest, which frames the detailed discussion of eighteenth- century practice. This discussion outlines the broad framework before it examines some detailed cases, with a particular focus on lending to Glasgow businesses by local church bodies

Church History · Corporate governance · Economics · Historiography · Management · Political science · Protestantism · Sociology · Classics · History · Law · Scottish History and National Identity

• Systemic Accountability and the Governance of the Kirk

  Open Access•Alistair Mutch•Northern Scotland•2012

  Add to list

• Weber and Church Governance

  Open Access•Alistair Mutch•The Sociological Review•2009

  Add to list