Christian Theology and American Economics: From the Free Market to Socialism

Abstract

This article examines the different trajectory of Christian theology in nineteenthcentury American economics as compared to its trajectory in nineteenth-century British economics. While this trajectory is not identical in the two countries, there are several important similarities. Understanding the similarities, as well as the differences, requires an understanding of the influence of both American exceptionalism and the role of republican ideology in nineteenth-century American thought.

Bradley W. Bateman, "Christian Theology and American Economics: From the Free Market to Socialism," Journal of Markets & Morality 26, no. 1 (2023): 69-84