"Divine Currency"

In his new book, Divine Currency: The Theological Power of Money in the West (Stanford University Press; April, 2018), Assistant Professor of Religion Devin Singh shows how early economic ideas structured Christian thought and society, giving crucial insight into why money holds such power in the West. Monetary metaphors and images, including the minting of coins and debt slavery, provided frameworks for theologians to explain what happens in salvation. God became an economic administrator, and Christ functioned as a currency to purchase humanity's freedom. Such ideas, in turn, provided models for pastors and Christian emperors as they oversaw both resources and people. In this book, Singh argues that this longstanding association of money with divine activity has contributed over the centuries to money's ever increasing significance, justifying various forms of politics that manage citizens along the way. Read an excerpt from the book here.