The expansion of trade was a significant thing in the post classical era; it went through one of the biggest changes in history expanding in size and importance.  During the same period another one of the mayor happenings was taking place at the time, and that was the fact that most dominant religions remained throughout time, as civilizations came and went. The idea of trade has been around since religions first began to influence, but the fact of trade growing in size was a first during the post classical period; this shaped social hierarchies and dismissed many systems of belief among the population.

                Among the first to name trade a sin were the Muslims in the 8th century. As the story goes the Muslims of Islam believed this until the Divine Inspiration came and told them that there is no harm in them seeking the bounty of the lord. This simple phrase shows that people are starting to realize that trade and commerce are starting to become big in daily life, and it’s starting to get big enough to conflict with what the religions promote. Islam was the first to name it acceptable but not a necessity. That fell upon the Christians. In the 1100’s, with an ongoing war with the Saracens, also known as Muslims, no Christian was allowed to trade or mingle with a Saracen. Doing so resulted in excommunication from the church and the loss of hope of salvation. This absent connection of transferring goods made the Christians suffer. The city in which Pope Innocent III was speaking to was Venice; it was not a city of agriculture, rather it was a city that depended on its commerce and shipping. Pope Innocent III realized that though the trade with Muslims conflicted with the church, but it was a necessary evil if Venice was to survive and thrive. Because of this the people were allowed to trade specific things but nevertheless they were allowed to trade with Muslims.  The importance of necessity and justification were two big saviors that made trade acceptable in religions where trade was thought to be a bearer of bad habits and characteristics in a person. As trade expanded it brought questions in the minds of religious people of whether or not to practice it, but through struggle and realization trade literally came to be known as a necessary evil among religions.

                The last paragraph spoke of active religious individuals, but the expansion of trade did not just walk in unbothered. Trade was accepted as a whole yet the people who were known as merchants became the problem afterwards. Reginald Durham’s description of Saint Godric is a fascinating story speaking of the stages of man. Interestingly enough becoming a merchant was one of Saint Godric’s stages. Saint Godric grew up to be a very successful man in the game of trade. He was wise because of many travels in pursuit of public commerce. During his travels he visited many past homes of saints and he would meditate. With the influence of how these saints lived he himself started wishing that he was alone and not as attached to his merchandise, or other worldly things. After sixteen years of being a wealthy merchant he started to give to charity and take a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He would take notice of the malpractices of other salesman and he would make his goal to give himself to God and repent for all the malpractices that he committed as a merchant. Of course this would be the ideal story for any merchant, to come to realize that he has other duties. But the real problem can be seen when Saint Godric thought of as a better man as a poor follower of God who gave to the poor, rather than a wise rich merchant who would walk the world unbothered by anything else but his needs.

                During the Medieval times of Europe, its markets carried every type of good but only one type person; the deceitful, false being that would sell anything at any cost. Of course this person conflicted with the Christian church, many of the markets would prevent man to lose spirituality and become tangent to the earth, by deliberately skipping things in a normal, good Christian’s life, such as sermon or freely disobeying the duty to listen to mass and consciously go to meetings at the markets against the word of the church. Just because trade was allowed that should mean that Christ should be present in these places because he is justice; justice is one of the last things that was present in the markets and minds of merchants. The Christian Church clashes with trade expanding in this manner; it was severely altering its peoples’ mindsets on God.

Just as a good Christian gives to the poor not take, the same applies to the Confucianism principles of the post classical era. Zhang Han’s Essay on Merchants is a description a lot like the characterization of Saint Godric by Reginald Durham. Though it is more general it carries one of the biggest quotes in understanding why religion came to butt heads with trade. The saying by a Confucian classic, Zhuagzi, a Chinese philosopher, resembles that true wisdom and understanding is immense and generous, outstretched and ample. It says that true understanding can’t be hurried; it will happen calmly over time, a lot like the story of Saint Godric. Little understanding is cramped and busy. Zhang Han, in his essay states that men are in love with profit and those with the most are always in the highest spots in culture, they are always the ones who people submit themselves as servants to, and the ones to dress the best in the land. But, he makes sense in saying that the wisdom of these people is the wisdom described as “cramped and busy”, it’s not worth anything.

Whether the expansion of trade conflicted with religion and the system of beliefs of many culture is a question that has many sides to it. Although, the expansion of trade did become accepted as a necessary evil, and it did break the thin line between faithful religious people, and arrogant, self absorbed person. During the postclassical period the expansion of trade has set new standards for who is really rich and who is not, as well as new understandings of who is wise and who is not. It has ruptured the faithfulness of many people in their religions but has giving new meaning to who is the wiser of the commodities.