IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/inrvec/v66y2019i3d10.1007_s12232-018-0308-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Discerning the role of the Church in relation to economic life: a perspective from the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Author

Listed:
  • Steven C. Heuvel

    (Evangelische Theologische Faculteit
    North-West University)

Abstract

This article seeks to contribute to a further understanding of Lutheran economic ethics. Specifically, I seek to develop new insights into the role of the Church in relation to economic life by exploring the work of German Lutheran theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945). I select three different elements in his description of the Church’s role. First, I describe his insistence on the Church as a deliberate socioeconomically inclusive community, and his assertion that “the view from below,” as he calls it, is of great importance. Second, I focus on what he sees as the guardianship role of the Church in relation to economics, presenting his doctrine of the divine mandates. Thirdly, I turn my attention to his view on the role of Christian professionals in economic life. While primarily an historic study, in describing these three elements I will also briefly indicate their relevance for contemporary Lutheran economic ethics.

Suggested Citation

  • Steven C. Heuvel, 2019. "Discerning the role of the Church in relation to economic life: a perspective from the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 66(3), pages 249-263, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:inrvec:v:66:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s12232-018-0308-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s12232-018-0308-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12232-018-0308-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12232-018-0308-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John D. Singleton, 2011. ""Money Is a Sterile Thing": Martin Luther on the Immorality of Usury Reconsidered," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 43(4), pages 683-698, Winter.
    2. Werner Bonefeld, 2012. "Freedom and the Strong State: On German Ordoliberalism," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(5), pages 633-656, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Malte Dold & Tim Krieger, 2023. "The ideological use and abuse of Freiburg’s ordoliberalism," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 195(3), pages 341-361, June.
    2. Ekkehard A. Köhler & Daniel Nientiedt, 2023. "Was Walter Eucken a proponent of authoritarian liberalism?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 195(3), pages 363-376, June.
    3. Christian Grimm & Jakob Kapeller & Stephan Puehringer, 2017. "Zum Profil der deutschsprachigen Volkswirtschaftslehre: Paradigmatische Ausrichtung und politische Orientierung deutschsprachiger Oekonom_innen (On the current state of German-speaking Economics: Para," ICAE Working Papers 70, Johannes Kepler University, Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy.
    4. Peter Nedergaard & Holly Snaith, 2015. "‘As I Drifted on a River I Could Not Control’: The Unintended Ordoliberal Consequences of the Eurozone Crisis," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 1094-1109, September.
    5. Sergio Cesaratto, 2017. "Alternative interpretations of a stateless currency crisis," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 41(4), pages 977-998.
    6. Ferber, Tim, 2016. "European banking regulation after the financial crisis: Franco-German conflict of interest during the negotiations on a single resolution fund," PIPE - Papers on International Political Economy 27/2016, Free University Berlin, Center for International Political Economy.
    7. Marcelo Resico & Stefano Solari, 2016. "The Social Market Economy as a Feasible Policy Option for Latin Countries," HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT AND POLICY, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 27-52.
    8. Schneider, Sebastian, 2014. "Varieties of capitalism, varieties of crisis response Bank bailouts in comparative perspective," PIPE - Papers on International Political Economy 21/2014, Free University Berlin, Center for International Political Economy.
    9. Jürgen Wandel, 2019. "Prospects for an ordoliberal reform of the European Union," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 28-43, February.
    10. Piotr Pysz & Anna Jurczuk, 2021. "Społeczna Gospodarka Rynkowa – wschodzącą gwiazdą literatury ekonomicznej?," Ekonomista, Polskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne, issue 4, pages 529-549.
    11. Troels Krarup, 2019. "‘Ordo’ versus ‘Ordnung’: Catholic or Lutheran roots of German ordoliberal economic theory?," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 66(3), pages 305-323, September.
    12. Stephan Puehringer & Laura Porak & Johanna Rath, 2021. "Talking about competition? Discursive shifts in the economic imaginary of competition in public debates," ICAE Working Papers 123, Johannes Kepler University, Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy.
    13. Philipp Robinson Rössner, 2019. "Martin Luther and the making of the modern economic mind," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 66(3), pages 233-248, September.
    14. Stephan Puehringer, 2016. "Think Tank networks of German neoliberalism. Power structures in economics and economic policies in post-war Germany," ICAE Working Papers 53, Johannes Kepler University, Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy.
    15. Jakob Kapeller & Stephan Puehringer & Christian Grimm, 2022. "Paradigms and policies: the state of economics in the German-speaking countries," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 1183-1210, July.
    16. Anna Gerbrandy, 2019. "Rethinking Competition Law within the European Economic Constitution," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 127-142, January.
    17. Alexander Nunn & Daniela Tepe, 2022. "Disciplinary Neo-Liberalisation and the New Politics of Inequality," The British Journal of Criminology, Oxford University Press, vol. 62(5), pages 1305-1322.
    18. Lars P. Feld & Ekkehard A. Köhler & Daniel Nientiedt, 2015. "Ordoliberalism, Pragmatism and the Eurozone Crisis: How the German Tradition Shaped Economic Policy in Europe," CESifo Working Paper Series 5368, CESifo.
    19. Werner Bonefeld, 2018. "Stateless Money and State Power: Europe as ordoliberal Ordnungsgef?ge," HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT AND POLICY, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2018(1), pages 5-26.
    20. Thomas Serres, 2016. "Ordoliberalism beyond Borders: The EU and Algeria's Human Capital," RSCAS Working Papers 2016/42, European University Institute.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Church; Christian ethics; Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Economy; Mandates; Sociality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:inrvec:v:66:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s12232-018-0308-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.