Between Faith and Capital: A Theological Review of the Banking System and Interests in the Abrahamic Religions

This article comparatively analyzes the conception of interest on loans within the three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, from a theological, ethical, and financial perspective. In the Jewish tradition, Halakha strictly prohibits charging interest to other Jews, based on passages in the Torah that promote solidarity and mutual support, although it does permit charging interest to foreigners. Islam, through Sharia, condemns all forms of usury (ribā), considering the generation of risk-free profit immoral, and proposes as an alternative the Islamic financial system based on risk-sharing contracts and social justice. For its part, early Christianity, influenced by biblical and patristic thought, also rejected interest, a position that was maintained for centuries but was reinterpreted with the arrival of capitalism and the Protestant Reformation. The study highlights how each religion offers a unique vision of economic justice and the ethics of lending, influenced by its sacred texts, legal traditions, and historical contexts. The study incorporates qualitative data from interviews and surveys that shed light on how contemporary believers and practitioners interpret and apply these principles in their financial decision-making. The contemporary implications of these approaches for modern banking and ethical financial practices are also reflected upon, opening an interfaith dialogue on the morality of the current financial system. This analysis contributes to an understanding of the role of religion in shaping sustainable and socially responsible financial principles.