Question

Early in the Renaissance, almost all bankers were people of the Jewish faith. These men provided a much-needed service to fellow businessmen who were seeking advancement, yet they were looked down upon and made to live and work in ghettos. What was the source of this attitude toward banking?
Select one:
a.Lending money and charging interest went against a teaching of the Catholic Church and was seen as sinful.
b.Banking began as way for thieves to trick people into giving them their money.
c.People who borrowed money had to go to the ghettos for their banking needs and disliked these slum areas.
d.The activities of bankers were believed to be powered by magic, and the people of Europe were superstitious.

Answer 1

Answer:

a. Lending money and charging interest went against a teaching of the Catholic Church and was seen as sinful.

Explanation:

Lending money at an interest was forbidden by the Catholic Church for Catholic believers, and similar restrictions applied for members of the Eastern Orthodox Church. These prohibitions were based on some Bible scriptures, and on the works of several clergy philosophers, including Italian clergyman Thomas Aquinas, perhaps the most important philosopher of the Middle Ages.

Jewish People, as people outside the Catholic Church, were allowed to charge interest, and for this reason, they took that economic activity and provided the banking service for people across Europe. However, for this same reason, they were looked down on as sinners, or simply as people who did not belong because they did not share the same Christian faith. This is why they were forced to live in ghettos, and were often expelled from their properties, and subjected to all kinds of social persecution.