The Medieval Church

Nobody sells forgiveness by that name anymore. But the idea behind it is still around: God's mercy has a price, and the church stands at the gate collecting it. Pay, give, perform or wait long enough, and you will be let through. For centuries in Europe that price was paid in coins.

You're not imagining it. Religion and money have been tangled together for a long time, and the clearest case in history is the medieval sale of indulgences: certificates that promised less punishment after death in exchange for a payment. The church itself later stopped the sales. But the man whose name was on every certificate had told his followers to give freely, and had forgiven people on the spot, for nothing.

Measured against the center