Of Heaven and Earth: Religion and economic activity among Bethlehem's Moravians, 1741--1800

This dissertation investigates how religious beliefs influence economic decisions, highlighting the often-overlooked role of religion and religious actors in the development of eighteenth-century capitalism. It argues that Bethlehem's Moravians, a German Pietist missionary community with acute business acumen, created a form of "moral capitalism" neither at odds with economic development nor guided solely by Weber's "spirit of capitalism." The group met its religious and economic needs through a flexible approach to economic structures that allowed for economic innovation, profit maximization, and religious oversight. Through the Moravians' story, this work addresses scholarly debates over declension and early America's transition to capitalism and argues for taking religion as an engine of economic development in colonial British North America more seriously than scholars generally have.;Bethlehem, founded as a communitarian town in 1741, developed into a frontier crossroads embedded in Pennsylvania's economy, while maintaining an internal economic structure seemingly at odds with capitalist pursuits. Simultaneously, the international Moravian church capitalized on its mission network to engage in transatlantic commerce. Although church-sponsored capitalism is itself historiographically striking, this project is not simply a story of economic success by believers. "Of Heaven and Earth" also explores how the Moravians responded to new economic challenges and situations. In 1762, contraction in the international Moravian community required that a cash-based system replace Bethlehem's communalism, and leaders created a market-driven economy from the ground up. Individuals gained economic freedom, and the town's new economy exhibited market-based pricing and profit motives in business contracts. Nonetheless, Moravian "moral capitalism" remained the guiding spirit behind that new economy, and church leaders monitored prices, internal competition, and general business practice with the explicit goal of ensuring that commerce be conducted "after the spirit of Jesus.";This study follows the Moravians through to the end of the eighteenth century. The Moravians' flexible attitude toward economic activity remained consistent throughout this period, as church leaders used market innovations to finance missionary work. By the end of the century, however, increased European settlement and the westward movement of native peoples transformed Bethlehem from a mission outpost into a settled community, fundamentally changing its religious purpose.