The Protestant Ethic And The Spirit Of Capitalism

Weber argues that religious beliefs contributed to major social change- specifically the emergence of modern capitalism in Northern Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Modern capitalism differs from capitalism as it is based on systematic, efficient and a rational pursuit of profit and profit for its own sake rather than consumption. Weber calls this the spirit of capitalism.

A major 16th century movement initially aimed at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformation was begun by a German monk named Martin Luther who challenge the Catholic Church’s doctrine by posting his 95 Theses on a church door. He did this because he was appalled that the church was selling indulgences, which were written letters that assured people’s salvation, in order to build a new Basilica in Rome under Pope Leo X. Martin Luther argued that the Bible, not the pope, was the central means to discern God’s word and was the only thing capable of giving salvation.

This dramatic increase resulted in great periods of growth and invention (Hatzifotis, 2017). Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism looked at the relationship between Protestantism and the emergence of modern capitalism. He discussed how Protestant’s involvement in business and profiting was

Christianity, as a multifaceted belief system, serves as a guiding beacon for its adherents, directing them towards living a more purposeful and virtuous life. Through the teachings of significant figures like Martin Luther and the ethical framework it provides, coupled with its profound practices such as baptism, Christianity facilitates a transformative journey towards personal growth and societal betterment. Martin Luther, a towering figure in Christian history, played a pivotal role in shaping the faith's understanding of salvation and moral living. Luther's emphasis on sola scriptura, sola fide, and sola gratia (Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone) underscores the centrality of faith and divine grace in the Christian life. His revolutionary ideas sparked the Protestant Reformation, challenging the institutionalized norms and encouraging individuals to seek a direct relationship with God.

The certain morality of the lawful pursuit of wealth gives businessmen both a clear conscience and the ability to employ motivated workers who themselves constantly labor for the glory of God. The businessmen’s conscience is further cleared by the thought that the unequal distribution of goods is part of God’s plan – it is God’s secret choice to bestow grace as he wishes. The workers “calling”, in contrast, is to labor regardless of the wage, striving to glorify God and secure status as the elect. The ascetic lifestyle of a poor worker is also glorified, as the worker lives as the apostles once did. The attitudes of both the businessmen and the worker in the modern economic relationship naturally flow from ascetic Protestantism.

As seen throughout the semester, the debates surrounding capitalism and its role in society are extensive and transcends generations. By virtue of the nature of debates, two broad positions on capitalism evolved in North American Protestantism – one position defends capitalism while the other protests capitalism. The defense of capitalism developed in the 19th century. Being one of the many authors to do so, Charles Sellers attributes the development of capitalism to the Market and Industrial Revolution (Sellers, 21). Consequently, the Second Great Awakening increased religious awareness and significance in the daily lives of Americans (Sellers, 202). Sellers argues it was only through religion that Americans could cope with the stresses of

As regarded in the text, Reformation was the start of Protestantism inspired by ideas of Martin Luther. Martin Luther firmly believed that one who has faith in God and is right in his deeds will achieve salvation. It would be God and not the Pope make that decision. According to Martin Luther, God created all Christians n equal and therefore all Christians should have equal rights to decide on their deeds.

Martin Luther is the main cause of the Protestant Reformation. When he was born in Germany during 1493 (Medieval-life-and-time.info) he had no idea that he would one day become a monk and then go on to become a professor, according to his family he was destined to become a lawyer (biography.com). But it was not until later on that he came upon a verse from the Bible saying “ The just will live by faith” (biography.com) he then later came to the understanding that this meant “The key to spiritual salvation was not to fear god or be enslaved by religious dogma but to believe that faith alone would bring salvation” (biography.com). In modern day words this means that the people should not fear god, but put trust in him/her that he/she has a good life

So we can understand this we have to go back in history, we need to look for the eternal relationship between capitalism and religion. There are assumption that capitalist blossomed around the same time as enlightenment of the eighteenth century. In fact, the church of the middle ages was the main source for the first sign of capitalism. The church was the first to set the rule of law, a bureaucracy system and many more concepts that our modern society is following today. The church owned nearly a third of all land in Europe, so the church had to create a strong system to manage all of these holdings. These strong systems helped in achieving great result as the technological discoveries. Therefor, the growth of capitalism was a source of the improvement in our society today. But not a lot people like to be ruled by the church and because if something goes beyond the person mean it will just create chaos and interruption. Thus, all of this created segregation in classes, and definition of certain classes no longer fit. Therefor the first settlers ran away from all these rules and seek refuge in the new land. They were looking for a new meaning of life, beyond what church has instructed. Even after establishing a new society in the new land, the American still struggled and had conflict over class

During the sixteenth century, the practices of the Roman Catholic Church were unrighteous and a reformation was brought about to ensure what following Christ truly meant. Prior to this, a man, by the name of Martin Luther, struck in immense fear from a horrid, severe thunderstorm, vowed that he would become a monk to be spared with God’s vital protection. His father wanted him to be a lawyer because he believed that it would have been more help to the family. If not for this storm, Luther would have studied law in harmony to what his father wanted and not have stumbled upon his most laudable ideas that greatly influence churches today. The ideas in Luther’s evangelical study are noted as the 5 Solas: Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), Sola

One expects Weber to Capitalism is a result of Protestantism or to be more specific, Calvinism. Calvinism believes God has granted few with salvation whereas others have to go through damnation. This virtue isn't dependent on their good or bad actions/ deeds but because God wanted it in a certain way. This belief made believers of Calvinism worried about their salvation and made them invest more efforts into economic success. This, in turn, made them believe that they were the chosen favourites of God. Furthermore, the profits made by Calvanists were re-invested into the business for further profits rather than self-indulgence. Hence, the concept of "Protestant ethic" came into place which generally refers to desire of having enormous economic success and will of working hard. This concept of "work ethic"

At the beginning of the reformation, the viewpoint that started to develop was that anything which was not included in the bible could be regarded as insignificant and therefore permissible. For example, he noted that there was nothing in Scripture requiring celibacy and therefore permitted, in fact it is encouraged that preachers are married so that they aren’t tempted by sin. During the Reformation more emphasis was placed on the individual and the church’s interpretation was starting to be questioned. Luther describes in his Preface to the First Volume of His Latin Writings how he came up with his “solas” of salvation by soteriology by reading a sentence from the Bible. “‘In it the righteousness of God is revealed’ that had stood in my way. For I hated that word “righteousness of God,” which, according to the use and custom of all the teachers, I had been thought to understand philosophically…with which God is righteous and punishes the unrighteous sinner” (Hillerbrand 29). He had determined that people could not be saved by good deeds or sacraments but by “faith alone” or Sola fide. This meant that followers rejected some of the traditional teachings of the Church and resulted in a theological dispute with the Church. Furthermore, Luther thought of Scripture being divided into two parts “…that faith alone, without works, justifies, frees and saves; …Scripture is divided

For Weber, the idea of rationalism rational thought based on societal efficiency and productivity, runs through his works particularly The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. In this seminal work, Weber argues that the idea of Protestantism contributes to history and economics in that piety and the chance for a better life after death cause humans to strive for economic gain in certain ways, whereas that is not always using work as an expression of self - it is work, as Marx might say, for the ends justifying the means, rather than the means justifying what work is being done. Authority, then, rather than being solely economic, does have at its

Max Weber believed Protestants compared to Catholics were more likely to hold business occupations based on the observation; that the capitalist structure rose alongside with Protestant reformation. This meant there was a direct positive correlation between capitalism and Protestantism. Because Protestants believe working hard here on Earth will secure them a position in Heaven; this leads to capitalism. I can see the connection Weber made, because religion is usually central to one’s life, it would be a primary motivator for working hard because of the idea of life after death. So I, for example, will work hard and strive to be the best person I can be, in order to be allowed entrance into heaven. The protestant reformation lead to new innovations such as the printing press. Religion could be seen as a factor that pushed this technological advancement because Protestants were now able to build an interpersonal relationship with God while also being able to interpret the bible for themselves.

The beginning of the Protestant Reformation can be accredited to Martin Luther. Luther, who started Lutheranism, was a monk who began to question the questionable acts and teachings of church officials. Luther believed that to achieve true salvation man must live “by faith” (Axen and Backman, 191). While this belief seems standard, it is important because Luther lived in a time where the pope would accept money from Christians to essentially buy their salvation. Luther believed that it was “better to perform the penance” than attempting to buy one’s way out of purgatory (192). These indulgences lead to Luther establishing what he felt were three real ways to achieve salvation: sola fide, sola gratia, and sola scriptura. Sola fide, or only faith, is the idea that one’s faith could save them, not their money. Sola gratia, or only grace, means that only God’s grace allows someone into Heaven, not anything they