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The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
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Chapter 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 3, Section 1 Summary: “Luther’s Conception of the Calling”
In this chapter, Max Weber explores the Protestant notion of the “calling,” which he sees as being central to the spirit of capitalism that Protestantism helped to spread. In Weber’s view, the notion of having a “calling” has within it “an audible echo from the religious realm” that imbues it with a sense of morality and religious meaning (39). Prior to the Reformation, work was seen as something that one simply did to survive, with no special significance or meaning. However, after the Reformation, work was transformed into the concept of having a calling, in which “one’s task is given by God” (39). Such a transformation of the meaning of work turns one’s job into one’s ethical and religious duty.
Weber argues that this newfound notion of having a calling was first developed by Luther, the theologian whose teachings spurred the Protestant Reformation. Besides a handful of other instances, Luther was the first to use the phrase of a calling in its modern-day usage. Likewise, while there were some “early signs of an appreciation of daily work” in the Middle Ages, it was only after Luther that “the fulfillment of duty in vocational callings became viewed as the highest expression that moral activity could assume” (39).
Weber argues that Protestantism’s emphasis on one’s work represents one of the key dogmatic differences between itself and Catholicism. In the Catholic religion, the epitome of religious and moral devotion is the figure of the monk, whose life is characterized by “an ascetic withdrawal from the world” (39). As such, Catholicism views morality as something that can only be achieved separate from the material world. In contrast, Luther’s religious teachings emphasize that connection with God can be found in one’s daily life, through an emphasis on each individual’s “this-worldly work” (40). Luther further argues that labor becomes an “expression of brotherly love” for one’s fellow man, as the point of one’s labor is “to work for others” rather than for oneself (40). For Luther, a life dedicated to one’s work becomes the “fulfillment [… of] God’s will” (41).
In spite of Luther’s emphasis on work, Weber argues that much of Luther’s views remained antithetical to the bourgeoning spirit of capitalism. Instead, Weber sees Luther as expressing an “economic traditionalist frame of mind” (41), which is critical of earning money simply for the sake of having more money. Luther’s economic traditionalism is captured by his belief that individuals should remain in their singular calling rather than seek to progressively earn more money by switching to higher- and higher-paying careers. Luther believes that society’s division of labor is “a direct manifestation of Divine Will” (44), in which each individual has been given their job by God. Thus, individuals should strive to perform their calling to the best of their ability. Striving to switch to another career, or earn more money than one needs, thus becomes a rebuke of God’s ordering of the universe.
Chapter 3, Section 2 Summary: “Task of the Investigation”
While Luther’s teachings developed the notion of having a calling, they otherwise remained antithetical to the spirit of capitalism that Weber writes is necessary for capitalism’s general development. Weber argues that it was only with the later Protestant sect of Calvinism, based on the teachings of 16th-century Protestant theologian John Calvin, that Protestantism’s ideas of labor became fully aligned with capitalism. Weber will spend the rest of his book exploring how “the power of the religious movements” of Calvinism and other Protestant sects contributed to capitalism’s growth in the centuries following the Reformation (47). In this short section of Chapter 3, Weber outlines some key assumptions that will influence how he pursues his analysis of Protestant movements.
Weber notes that his argument will focus on the beliefs and practices of the Protestant sects generally, rather than seeking “to discover the capitalist spirit” in the founder or otherwise singular “representative” of a sect (47). One should keep in mind that changing notions of work were never outright “an end in itself” for the Protestant sects (48). As the Protestants were primarily concerned with the religious “salvation of the soul,” any “practical effects” or changes in believers’ daily lives were merely “the consequences of purely religious motives” that sought to help believers become closer to God (48). Weber also notes that his analysis will not seek to argue a thesis of reductive and clear-cut causality, such as that capitalism “was a creation of the Reformation” or that “the capitalist spirit […] could have originated” only due to the Reformation (49). Rather, Weber’s argument will seek to determine to what extent “religious influences co-participated” in the era’s development of the capitalist spirit (49).
Chapter 3 Analysis
In this chapter, Weber shifts away from capitalism to focus on the religious ideas of Protestantism, particularly in how it conceives of work and labor. Weber’s focus in the chapter is on the teachings of Martin Luther, whose religious ideas are widely seen as having sparked the Protestant Reformation. In 1517, Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of a church in Germany. The document offered a critique of the Catholic Church, with a particular focus on the Church’s practice of selling “indulgences,” which promised to absolve purchasers of their sins. Though Luther did not initially intend to break away from the Catholic Church, his act spurred the formation of numerous Protestant sects—otherwise termed the Protestant Reformation.
Throughout this chapter, Weber is focused on how Luther’s teachings led to a transformation of Christian dogma through which the material world became the primary site of religious meaning. Weber argues that in Catholicism, the “highest expression that moral activity could assume” was to be found in the lives of monks (39). Such monks sought to isolate themselves from society through “an ascetic withdrawal from the world” (40), refusing all material and societal concerns and living a life fully devoted to contemplating God. Accordingly, the highest form of moral living was reserved for only the most dedicated of believers, with the majority of normal Catholics simply trying to live an ethical life the best they could.
Central to the Protestant dogma of Luther and other theologians was a rejection of the Catholic Church’s strict hierarchization and authority. Instead, Luther advocated that individuals should have a direct relationship with God, preaching that there should be “salvation through the single believer’s fate” (40). Such an emphasis on the individual believer meant that Protestants eschewed the institutions of monasticism, instead believing that religious meaning could be found within one’s daily life. To that end, Weber writes that Protestantism turned to “this-worldly work” as the embodiment of ethical living (40). By this-worldly work, Weber means “the fulfillment of duties […] which derive from the social and occupational positions of each person” (40). Whereas Catholicism saw the height of morality as involving withdrawing from the world, Protestantism located morality in daily life, giving all individuals the opportunity to achieve a certain holiness simply by focusing on their daily work.
As a result of this emphasis on this-worldly work, Lutheranism helped to develop the notion of having a “calling.” In contemporary times, especially when Weber was writing, it is common to use the phrase “calling” to refer to one’s work or career. The phrase suggests that one’s work is deeply intertwined with one’s identity, as if one is uniquely suited to perform that work. Weber argues that such a notion of a “calling” in its modern usage can be traced to the writings of Luther, who connected it with his notion of this-worldly work. For Luther, work in one’s vocational calling was one of the main ways that the individual can show their appreciation for God. Weber sees the notion of the vocational calling as important for his general analysis of the relation between capitalism and Protestantism, as the vocational calling combines notions of labor and ethics into one. However, Weber notes that Luther was otherwise resistant to the bourgeoning capitalist spirit and would otherwise have aligned himself with views of economic traditionalism. As such, Weber writes that his analysis will have to turn to “those denominations [such as Calvinism] that establish a connection between practical life and religious belief in a more direct manner than Lutheranism did” (45).
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