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Max Weber
A German monk who initiated the Protestant Reformation, and the father of Lutheranism. Although once a Catholic himself, Luther rebelled against the Catholic Church’s mediation between individual Christians and God. Most importantly for Weber’s work, Luther rejected the Catholic concept of monastic asceticism, since it removed the Christian from the world God made. Instead, Luther developed the concept of the calling, which posits that one’s secular occupation is also their divine duty, since God providentially placed them in that position. Thus, the premier way for a person to serve God is to work hard in their occupation.
Martin Luther Quotes in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
The The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism quotes below are all either spoken by Martin Luther or refer to Martin Luther. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1, Section 3 Quotes
The monastic style of life is now not only completely worthless as a means of justification before God (that much is self-evident), [Luther] also sees it as a manifestation unloving egoism and an abdication from secular duties. In contrast, labor in a secular calling appears as the outward expression of Christian charity.
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The salvation of souls and this alone is at the heart of [Protestants’] life and work. Their ethical goals and the practical effects of their teaching are all anchored firmly here and are the consequences of purely religious motives. And we shall therefore have to be prepared for the cultural effects of the Reformation to be in large measure […] unforeseen and unwished for.
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Part 2, Section 1 Quotes
Tireless labor in a calling was urged as the best possible means of attaining this self-assurance. This and this alone would drive away religious doubt and give assurance of one’s state of grace.
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For the Baptists sects the intensity of their interest in the economic aspects of the calling was considerably increased by various factors. One of these was the refusal to accept state office, which was originally regarded as a religious duty deriving from rejection of the world […] and the strict refusal to bear arms and swear on oath disqualified them from public office.
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Part 2, Section 2 Quotes
If we may sum up what has been said so far, then, innerworldly Protestant asceticism works with all it force against the uninhibited enjoyment of possessions; it discourages consumption, especially the consumption of luxuries. Conversely, it has the effect of liberating the acquisition of wealth from the inhibitions of traditionalist ethics; it breaks the fetters on the striving for gain by not only legalizing it, but […] seeing it as directly willed by God.
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Martin Luther Character Timeline in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
The timeline below shows where the character Martin Luther appears in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Section 3: Luther’s Conception of the Calling
...while every Protestant tradition contains this concept. Weber suggests that the concept originates from Martin Luther’s German translation of the Bible, in Ecclesiastes, though ancient translations did not contain such a...
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Luther began his theological journey believing, like the Catholic Church, that one’s secular occupation was “morally...
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Notably, Weber argues that the Bible, which Luther believed supported the calling, is primarily traditionalist in its approach towards money. Jesus, especially, teaches...
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Luther’s view of the calling was new, but steeped in tradition, building upon the German mystics...
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Part 2, Section 1: The Religious Foundations of Innerworldly Asceticism
...their inner isolation and belief that life only exists to glorify God, the Calvinists took Luther’s loose concept of calling and made it a “characteristic part of their ethical system.” Thus,...
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Calvinism, however, turns the Catholic’s monastic asceticism into “innerworldly [earthly; everyday life]” asceticism, following Luther’s push away from monastic tradition. Under Calvinism, those people who’d once made excellent monks moved...
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...life of labor in a calling from a utilitarian viewpoint, spurning the “philosophical speculation” of Luther and Calvin. However, in total, Weber views the Pietist movement as a weaker form of...
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Part 2, Section 2: Asceticism and the Capitalist Spirit
...holds that the most productive spiritual activity is prayer and contemplation, not labor. What Martin Luther began with his loose concept of the calling, Baxter took to far greater lengths, teaching...
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