2004
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Volume 76, Issue 3
  • ISSN: 2542-6583
  • E-ISSN: 2590-3268
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Abstract

Abstract

As part of NTT JTSR’s series on Key Texts, this article discusses Max Weber’s famous essay . In this essay Weber argues that certain religious developments in the West resulted in a specific, ascetic work ethic which, in turn, stimulated the rise of a capitalist economy. The present article summarizes Weber’s line of reasoning in relative detail and briefly explains why Weber’s essay is still of interest today. As regards the enduring relevancy of Weber’s essay, it is mentioned that his essay can be seen as a precursor of contemporary secularization theory, that it addresses the timely issue of the relationship between religion and social stratification and that it clarifies the motivational aspects of religious beliefs on the basis of an action-theoretical approach to religion.

© Paul Vermeer
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/content/journals/10.5117/NTT2022.3.005.VERM
2022-09-01
2024-11-07
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Keyword(s): action theory; asceticism; Calvinism; capitalism; Max Weber; Protestantism; secularization; stratification

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