Why This Text Matters | The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism | Will Schultz

Religious studies courses can feature a broad range and variety of texts, including anything from The Daodejing, to The Mishnah, to Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, to Mary Douglas’s Purity and Danger, to Said’s Orientalism. The Marty Center partnered with the Undergraduate Religious Studies Program to design “Why This Text Matters” as a series of videos to help faculty prepare for courses, their students, and anyone generally curious about important texts in the study of religion. In the space of about 30 minutes, viewers can gain a deeper understanding of the context, themes, and significance of texts taught by experts at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
About the Text:
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905), an extended essay by the German sociologist Max Weber, searches for the religious roots of modern capitalism. Weber argues that there exists an “affinity” between Protestantism and capitalism. Protestants responded to their fears of damnation by seeking assurance of salvation; many found this assurance in the world of business, where turning a profit came to be seen as proof of God’s grace. The Protestant Ethic thus explains capitalism as a force unleashed by the transformative energies of the Protestant Reformation.