Did the rise of capitalism have an effect on beliefs or religious faith?

by wostestwillis

I know this is maybe unanswerable due to other factors but I have been thinking about how capitalism turned people away from traditional sources of power or authority, towards the individual or private entities. Also this maybe a stupid question, but did capitalism place more importance on money than previous social systems? I ask this because it seems like currency would always have considerable importance for any society. Finally, did people always have concerns over "the economy" as we do now? It seems that the amorphous yet powerful concept of god has been replaced by these number systems we have created (GDP, etc), and we are always trying to do things in the name of the economy that will make us all happier or blessed with more stuff if we do it right.

I know this last point is pretty out there, just thought I'd throw it out here. Also sorry if this belongs in social science instead of here.

Domini_canes

I can only speak to how capitalism interacted with Catholicism. How other religions reacted to capitalism is well outside my expertise.

The history of Catholicism and capitalism is long and complicated. To stick just to papal thoughts on the subject, one can go back to Leo XIII and his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum. While usually this encyclical is cited as the beginning of the Church's opposition to marxism and communism, it also comments heavily on capitalism. Its defense of private property could be seen as an endorsement of capitalism, particularly section 20 which states in part

Of these duties, the following bind the proletarian and the worker: fully and faithfully to perform the work which has been freely and equitably agreed upon; never to injure the property, nor to outrage the person, of an employer

While the defense of private property is strident, there is also an assertion that unfettered capitalism is dangerous. In particular, economic concerns must be tempered by moral considerations. In section 45, Leo XIII asserts that there should be restrictions on the negotiations between employers and employees--particularly regarding ensuring that employees having sufficient compensation to provide for their families.

Let the working man and the employer make free agreements, and in particular let them agree freely as to the wages; nevertheless, there underlies a dictate of natural justice more imperious and ancient than any bargain between man and man, namely, that wages ought not to be insufficient to support a frugal and well-behaved wage-earner. If through necessity or fear of a worse evil the workman accept harder conditions because an employer or contractor will afford him no better, he is made the victim of force and injustice. In these and similar questions, however - such as, for example, the hours of labor in different trades, the sanitary precautions to be observed in factories and workshops, etc. - in order to supersede undue interference on the part of the State, especially as circumstances, times, and localities differ so widely, it is advisable that recourse be had to societies or boards such as We shall mention presently, or to some other mode of safeguarding the interests of the wage-earners; the State being appealed to, should circumstances require, for its sanction and protection.

Leo XIII asserted that there were both rights and duties that employers and employees must adhere to. These included limits on capitalism, from employment to the just utilization of property. Rerum Novarum wasn't just a singular event, either. It has been the foundation for a number of other encyclicals: Pius XI and Quadragesimo Anno* in 1931, John XXIII and Mater et Magistra in 1961, and John Paul II and Centesimus Annus in 1991. Each of these is available online in English. Over the years, the Church grew in opposition to communism, with an outright ban coming in 1937 via Pius XI's Divini Redemptoris. However, the Church also became increasingly critical of unfettered capitalism at the same time. The related systems of Corporatism (a highly complicated area that I am barely qualified to even comment on with a number of non-Catholic variations) and Distributism were proposed by a number of Catholic scholars. In short, the Church continues to defend property rights but argues for social justice and the rights of the poor--and the duty to provide for the poor.

I don't know if any of the above answers your question, but it should give a brief overview of how Catholicism has interacted with capitalism over the past century and a half. Followup questions from OP and others are always encouraged.