The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Weber states that there are four primary sources of Protestant asceticism: Calvinism, Pietism, Methodism, and the Baptist sects. These denominations all link together in various ways and sometimes cross over each other, such as the Baptists and Calvinists, who were originally opposed but became nearly identical to each other over the centuries. Doctrinal differences, even over predestination, also shifted and combined so that each tradition was “mutually influenced” by each other. Weber argues that although it might seem prudent to ignore the individual doctrines and look only at the practical effects, one must understand the “dogmatic roots” of Protestant asceticism to truly understand its evolution through history. The religious doctrines produced the morality, which in turn created the “psychological drives” that led to the capitalist spirit.

Weber states that the primary point of Calvinist doctrine, the single issue that made several governments see the denomination as a national threat, is the doctrine of “election by grace.” Weber quotes the articles of the “Westminster Confession” of 1647, where the doctrine of election (or predestination) was canonized. According to the articles, human beings are wholly wretched, unable to come to God on their own. Thus, God graciously chose a minority of people for salvation, long before he made the earth. These people are the “elect,” whom God reveals himself to over the course of their lives. The rest of humanity is damned to hell, as they deserve to be according to humanity’s inherent wickedness.

The writer, Milton, claimed he’d rather go to hell than submit to Calvinism’s ideal of God. However, Weber claims that he is not aiming to make value judgments, only examining the doctrine’s effect in history. John Calvin, its progenitor, “conceptualized” this theory in stages. With each doctrinal debate he had with his opponents, the doctrine of election grew more firmly entrenched in his thinking. In Calvin’s view, humanity exists to serve God—God does not exist to serve man. Therefore, “earthly justice” does not apply to God, and for “the reprobate”—those not elected for salvation—to claim God is unjust only reveals their ignorance about his mysterious ways, since God’s will cannot be thwarted by human ideals of fairness. Weber argues that this makes God transcendent almost to the point of abstraction, an otherworldly, inscrutable power.

Weber claims that the doctrine of predestination, in “all the pathos of its inhumanity,” darkened the mood of all who ascribed to it, leaving them incredibly lonely. Under Calvinism’s logic, each person cannot look to their friends, family, or church to aid them in their quest for salvation. They walk their path alone, towards an end already established, though they don’t know whether it will be heaven or hell. For the Puritans (which grew out of Calvinism), Weber argues that this created both their negative attitude towards emotion and sensuality, since those do not aid their salvation, as well as a “pessimistically tinted individualism” that still exists in nations and institution descended from Puritans. Weber notes that the Calvinist’s relationship with God is purely internal, an act of “profound loneliness.”

This pessimistic individualism is particularly notable in Puritan literature, much of which even advises trusting no one but God and being suspicious of one’s friends. In The Pilgrim’s Progress, the most famous Puritan allegory ever written, the main character, Christian, leaves his crying wife and children in the City of Destruction so that he can run to the Celestial City, fingers in his ears to drown out their screams while he shouts, “Life, eternal life.” Weber argues that this perfectly encapsulate the selfish outlook of the Puritan, concerned only with his own salvation.

With 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, within Calvinism, work becomes the primary method to serve and glorify God; it becomes the ethical center of humanity’s existence. Weber suggests that the doctrine, inhospitable as it seems, “endured” due to the insecurity it created within its adherents—practicing Calvinists inevitably begin to wonder whether or not they are part of God’s elect, since John Calvin taught that human eyes could not possibly judge the difference for themselves—even though Calvin was certain of his own election.

Because of their insecurity about their own “state of grace,” Weber argues that Calvinists were always looking for “distinguishing features” of the elect, ways to prove to themselves that they are chosen for salvation. This became necessary for church communities as well, since Calvinists believed that people should not participate in Holy Communion unless they are true Christians, among the elect. Although Calvin taught his followers to simply “regard” themselves as “elect” and trust in God’s providence, this was impossible. Instead, the main sign of one’s salvation was their fulfillment of their earthly calling. “Tireless labor” became “the best possible means of attaining this self-assurance.”

While the Lutherans believe that one can emotionally feel God’s presence in their souls, Calvinists distrust such appeals to emotion. The consequence of this distrust is that Calvinists must constantly strive to work in their calling, to ensure their life is dedicated to good works, which are “indispensable for salvation.” These good works prove that they are properly saved, empowered by God to enable them to lead lives of “Christian conduct.” Ironically, Weber (and the Lutherans) argue that though the Calvinists believe they cannot earn salvation but must be given it, their dependence on good works to feel “saved” means that the “Calvinist ‘creates’ his salvation himself.”

Weber argues that practically, this doctrine makes Calvinism one of the most productive religions to ever exist in terms of “moral action.” Whereas Catholics live “hand to mouth” regarding salvation—whenever they sin, they can negate that sin with repentance and good works—Calvinists must live their entire lives in action. Their pursuit of their calling, which validates their salvation, is “raised to the level of a system.” Although the Calvinist’s life is “exclusively directed toward the transcendental goal of salvation,” their practical work becomes rationally organized, ruthlessly methodical to prove that their whole lives suggest they are part of God’s elect, that they’ve moved from their natural state to the “state of grace.”

Weber states that traditional Christian asceticism, though it involves a monastic life, is less committed to “arbitrary withdrawal from the world” and “self-torment” than in creating a studiously disciplined life, free from the impulsive self which craves hedonistic pleasures. The ascetic aims to be alert, contemplative, and rational at all times. This desire for “absolute self-control” was shared both by Catholics and by Protestants. Weber argues that for both Catholics and Protestants, this “methodical control over the whole man” allowed them to develop their respective “tremendous world-conquering power” and made them formidable agents in history.

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 their ascetic ideals into their secular occupations. One of Calvinism’s primary contributions to Luther’s idea of the calling was the concept of “putting one’s faith to the test in secular working life.” However, due to Calvinist doctrine that humanity is fundamentally wretched and opposed to God, those people who view themselves as the elect form a “spiritual aristocracy” that looks down on the “reprobates” around them, hostilely viewing them as “enemies of God.”

Particularly through Calvinism, Reformed Protestants systematized Christian asceticism to such a degree that they kept careful record of their own progress in life. Most prominent theologians advised the practice of keeping a personal journal to record their habits, temptations, and successes, “to feel [their] own pulse.” As a result of this “systematization of the ethical conduct of life,” Christianity under Calvinism governed every aspect of existence. Weber notes that he has focused mainly on Calvinism so far, in large part because its doctrine of predestination not only became foundational for many subsequent Protestant movements, but also because he finds Calvinism uniquely effective and logically consistent. Its militarism produces a far more methodical life than the Lutheranism, which holds that salvation can be won back through repentance, and thus Lutherans have less need for unceasing labor and vigilance.

Lutheranism appears far less constrained by the ascetic impulse, even within its own practice of piety. The Lutheran feels free to let emotions and sentimentality run their due course. As a result of their more gracious ideas on salvation, Weber argues that Lutherans are far less methodical in their lifestyles, though also joyfully uninhibited. He compares the inner repression of the Anglo-American, descended from Calvinists and Puritans, with the comparative freedom of modern Germans, descended from Lutherans. Although Calvin’s doctrine of predestination is not the only progenitor of such a rationalized, methodical lifestyle, Weber believes it was of the “utmost psychological efficacy.”

The ascetic tradition of Pietism is usually based on the doctrine of predestination and thus closely resembles Calvinism. Where they differ, however, is in the scope of their ascetic practice. The Pietists remove themselves further from the world and distrust institutional theologians. According to Weber, Pietists gather together into closed communities with the aim of completely deadening themselves to worldly influence, in the hope of experiencing the “bliss” of communion with God while still on earth. This hope for an emotional state contradicts Calvinism’s rational austerity, while the desire to further disconnect from the secular world occasionally results in a return to monastic life.

However, when Pietism does not lapse into monasticism and does not abandon the concept of predestination—as Lutheran Pietism did—Weber argues that it produces an even more serious and methodical person. Pietists of this nature go beyond Calvinism and divide the elect into “active” and “passive” Christians, arguing that one may be “elect” and yet not wholly committed to their calling or properly ascetic enough. Such Pietists believe that their “perfection as measured against the [Old Testament] law was a sign of a state of grace” and that God providentially “blesses his own with success in their labors.” Such lofty ideals develop an “aristocracy of grace” among many Pietists, much like the Calvinists, which causes them to hold themselves as a sort of elite human being.

The German Pietist Zinzendorf added to the Protestant ascetic tradition by arguing for a 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 Calvinism, at least in its encouragement of a rationalistic, methodical life. Pietism’s tendency toward emotional experiences inevitably leads to the desire for pleasure, to enjoy the present. Weber argues that this weakens the capitalist drive, since the prudent capitalist must always save or invest for the future.

Weber states that Methodism was established as the Anglo-American parallel to German Pietism. Like Pietism, breaking from Calvinism, Methodism places increasing emphasis on emotion, arguing that salvation should not be met with austere rationalism, but joy. Because they believe that salvation should be marked by an emotional change, the Methodists lack the Calvinists’ grim insecurity, replacing it with an inner happiness. Also breaking from Calvinism, the Methodists believe that God’s grace can be lost and won again. This, too, makes their spirits lighter, though Weber notes that some members abuse this “Christian freedom” as an excuse to live undisciplined lives.

Weber argues that Methodism, like Pietism, rests on weaker ethical foundations that allow for a less methodical and rational existence than Calvinism.  Because of this, he does not believe Methodism made any significant contribution to the evolution of the calling or development of ascetic practice.

According to Weber, the Baptists, which later spawned the Mennonites and Quakers, contributed to Protestant asceticism through their belief in “the believer’s church.” Although not the first to adopt this idea, the Baptists hold that the church (in the proper sense) is not a “charitable foundation” or open house of God within a sea of redeemed and unredeemed humanity; rather, it is the exclusive community of “personal believers and born-again Christians” who have actively and inwardly accepted God’s grace. Because of this exclusivity, the early Baptists claimed to be the only “true church” and actively shunned the rest of the world, viewing its pleasures as “idolatry.”

Weber argues that the Baptist’s belief that God speaks to Christians inwardly, though their “inner light,” effectively eliminated the concept that the Bible is the “sole authority” of God, since their personal revelations are now valid as well. However, the Baptists share Calvinism’s conviction that natural man is wholly beneath God, and also that a life of perfect obedience, lived by conscience, is the only true mark of a Christian. As such, they stress good works, while still denying that the works themselves can lead to salvation. Although the Baptists do not cling as tightly to the calling as Calvinists do, Weber notes that early Baptist communities ethically refused to participate in politics or war, leaving business and economics their only means of making a living. Because of this, early Baptists, particularly the Quakers, threw themselves into the capitalist spirit, where they could ethically put their energy to use.

Weber states that his next objective will be to examine Protestant asceticism’s move out of the monastery and into everyday secular life, developing the capitalist spirit within individuals by training them to be rational and methodical in every aspect of their lives. Although it may have had some impact, Weber is less interested in the effects of church discipline and religious rule. Though both were severe under Calvinism, Weber will focus on the development of individual motivation towards capitalist gains.