Abstract
Based on Genevan Consistory records from 1542 to 1564, this article argues that Calvin's teaching on the body social informed ecclesiastical restrictions on usury and other commercial innovations.The tendency of Genevan entrepreneurs to adopt new market strategies in order to profit from French refugees and other newcomers turned Calvin against the most salient instruments of the market. He feared especially for the fate of truth-the reliability of language as a means of social communication-in the midst of entrepreneurial ventures and schemes to commodify credit.Against temptations to individualism, Calvin promoted public admonition and excommunication as forms of corporate discipline.Throughout, he insisted that Genevans identify themselves as members of the body social. This combination of religious discipline and moral theory, grounded in the notion of communication and directed against the market, should cause us to rethink the Weberian formulation of the ethos of Calvinism and its relation to capitalism.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
