Protestantism

         Protestantism and the Rise of Democracy and Capitalism

In Democracy in America (1835, 1840) Alexis de Tocqueville introduces the idea that Protestant Reformation, by introducing the idea of ​​a personal relationship with God, greatly reduced the monopoly that the (Catholic) Church, which, before that, had monopoly over the salvation of the soul. The colonization of the American continent provided an opportunity for people on the new continent to achieve a rise on the social ladder that would be unattainable for them in Europe, due to their social background. American democracy and its commitment to the ideals of political freedom and equality had three main sources. The first refers to the geographical position, which reduced the military threats and enabled access to vast expanses of fertile land. Another source is the Constitution adopted by the former colonies, which emphasized federalism and the protection of political freedoms. The third source of democracy, the most important in Tocqueville's opinion, was the many variants of Protestant religions, all of which promoted the idea of ​​freedom, so freedom became part of American tradition and customs. This tradition of freedom is evident in the full protection, according to the Constitution, of freedom of the press, as well as in the formation of political, religious, civil, and other associations at the local level.

Max Weber’s book The Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism (1920), is one of the most influential and famous studies in the field of the sociology of religion. In The Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism Weber  combines two fields of interest that are the most important to him - religion, and capitalism. He believes that each religion has its own economic ethics and that this ethics implies practical incentives to perform a certain type of social action, based on a religious view of the world and life. Capitalism is also specifically marked by the inherent capitalist spirit, the main feature of which is the opposition to traditional economic social action. The capitalist spirit contains a positive view of work and the acquisition of material wealth. Emphasis is placed on effort, thrift, discipline, and innovation, while laziness, gaining wealth without work, and hedonistic spending are viewed negatively. In pre-capitalist economies, people worked only as much as they needed to achieve a standard of living that was satisfactory to them. The capitalist spirit led to the complete rationalization of economic life.

The greatest influence on the development of the capitalist spirit and the rejection of the traditional form of doing business was the emergence of Protestant churches and their teachings in the early 16th century. Of all the Protestant currents, the most important for the development of the capitalist spirit was ascetic Protestantism, and above all Calvinism. Protestantism emphasized the idea of ​​"vocation", that is, that work is the most sacred duty of man because it enables salvation through the fulfillment of duty to God and therefore represents the highest expression of ethical self-affirmation. Protestantism, by treating labor as a means of salvation, directly refutes the traditional view of labor as God's punishment for original sin. Protestantism believes that success in a business is a confirmation of God's election, but that economic success must be achieved through hard work, thrift, and honesty. With this approach to economics and work, Protestantism has made a key contribution to the emergence and spread of the capitalist spirit.

Richard H. Tawney, in his Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (1926), similar to Max Weber, studied the relationship between religious attitudes and the development of capitalism in the 16th and 17th centuries. Tawney, unlike Weber , questions the hypothesis of a simple causal link between the emergence of Protestantism and the development of entrepreneurship. Tawney believes that the capitalist and entrepreneurial spirit originated before the emergence of Protestantism, and argues that the rise of capitalism was influenced by other, non-religious, factors. 

In his first book, Escape from Freedom (1941), Erich Fromm studies the reasons for the rise of Nazi movement and ideology in Germany. He argues that capitalist society and Protestantism promote individualism reflected in selfishness and greed, and give people only "freedom from." Individualism brings people to a state of loneliness and helplessness, so they strive to find security under the auspices of the state, institutions, and political parties. Such people connect with the leader through an authoritarian and sadomasochistic relationship. As is a consequence of unfulfilled life, the repressed life energy accumulates, and the energy of destruction grows stronger. There is a denial of true human nature, so people adapt to society through conformism and mimicry. Instead of a real self, people have a false self. Fromm calls this rejection of his true nature an "escape from freedom." Similarly to Weber, Fromm argues that the emergence of capitalism was associated with the spread of Protestant ideas. Protestantism requires individuals to be committed to their work, fulfill their duties, and have strict control over their sexual urges. A person who develops under the influence of such imperatives has, in Freud's terminology, an „anal character“, which is reflected in the desire for aggression and destruction. A society shaped by such ideas has a "patricentric" structure and a patriarchal-authoritarian cultural pattern.

Catholicism and Protestantism – Differences Between Believers

Émile Durkheim, in his book Suicide (1897) found that the most important regularity in the statistics of suicides was the fact that members of different religious groups (even within the same geographical area) have different suicide rates. Protestants had the highest suicide rates, followed by Catholics, while Jews had the lowest suicide rates. Religious doctrines were not the ones that influenced suicide rates, but it was the degree of internal integration of a religious group. To explain the connection between a person's individual situation and the form and degree to which that person is integrated into society, on the one hand, with suicide rates, on the other hand, Durkheim introduces four basic types of suicide: 1) egoistic, 2) anomic, 3) fatalistic and 4) altruistic. Egoistic suicide is a consequence of insufficient integration of the individual into the everyday life of the society in which he or she lives. Protestant religion emphasizes individualism, both in individual religious experience and in individual life choices, while, at the same time, it emphasizes the importance of a person's economic individualism and allows for selfish economic behavior. Protestants are characterized by the highest degree of individualism, while Jews, due to their history of persecution and isolated social status, have the highest degree of internal connection and integration.          

Andrew Greeley in the article "Some Aspects of Interaction Between Religious Groups in an Upper Middle Class Roman Catholic Parish," (1962) presents the results of his study of an upper-middle-class Beverly area of Chicago. Although inhabitans of this area shared the same socio-economic status, they were strongly divided by their religion – Protestant and Catholic. Protestants and Catholics were two endogamous separate communities. Adults of different religions socialized only at the country club, otherwise, both adults and children kept apart.

Based on data from his own and other empirical research, Gerhard Lenski The Religious Factor: A Sociological Study of Religion's Impact on Politics, Economics, and Family Life (1961) came to a slightly modified theory of the relationship between Protestant ethics and economic attitudes and behavior, in relation to the theory of Max Weber. Lenski determined that the differences in economic attitudes and behaviors between Protestants and Catholics are not a consequence of asceticism and the doctrine of "calling" among Protestants. He believes that the difference in the attitude towards the economy is an unintended consequence of some specific features of Protestantism. Protestantism led to greater intellectual autonomy among its believers, while the Catholic Church promoted close family ties and rules,  and demanded believers’ complete obedience and strict adherence to church dogmas. This difference in personal freedom and freedom of thought caused Protestants to start developing science and technology, which contributed to economic prosperity. On the other hand, Catholics stayed away from scientific careers and had lower drive for achieving economic success. In addition, a study conducted in Detroit found that Protestants, whose occupations were demanding but well-paid, had greater job satisfaction than Catholics who practiced the same occupations.

Greeley, in his book Religion and Career (1963), responded to Lenski’s conclusions from The Religious Factor . Using national data on college graduates Greeley showed that there were no differences between Catholics and Protestants in interest in science, academic experiences, or career goals. According to Greeley Catholics too endorsed American values of individualism, success and personal drive. The reason for discrepancy between Catholics and Protestants in Detroit was due to great number of recent Catholic immigrants who couldn’t afford university education. Greeley also argued that differences in voting behavior between two religious groups stem from nonreligious factors and constrains. In the book Ethnicity, Denomination and Inequality (1976) Greeley explored the reasons for huge drop in church attendance in Catholics between 1968 and 1975. He concluded that the biggest reason was 1968 papal encyclical that put a ban on the use of contraception. In the same time Protestant churches didn’t see the drop in their attendances rates.

Guy E. Swanson tried to answer the question why some European countries adopted Protestantism, while other didn’t, in his book Religion and Regime: A Sociological Account of the Reformation (1968). Swanson stated that Catholics percive God as „immanent” in the world. European countries whose regimes were immanent tended to stay Catholic. Countries with more equal governments tended to adopt Protestantism.

Books:

Ammerman. Bible Believers: Fundamentalists in the Modern World (1987);

     -     Baptist Battles: Social Change and Religious Conflict in the Southern Baptist Convention (1990);

     -     Southern Baptists Observed (1993);

     -     Congregation and Community (1997);

     -     Pillars of Faith: American Congregations and their Partners (2005); 

     -     Everyday Religion: Observing Modern Religious Lives (2006);

Bell. The New American Right (1955); 

Berger. The Noise of Solemn Assemblies (1961);

Dillenberger, John, and Claude Welch. Protestant Christianity Interpreted through Its Development (1954);

Durkheim. Suicide, a Study in Sociology (2007, in French 1897);

Fromm. Escape from Freedom (1941);

Greeley, Andrew. Religion and Career (1963);

Halbwachs. The Causes of Suicide (1978, in French 1930);

Hillerbrand, Hans Joachim (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Protestantism (2004);

Inglehart. Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide (2004);

Lenski. The Religious Factor: A Sociological Study of Religion's Impact on Politics, Economics, and Family Life (1961);

Lynd. Middletown (1929);

Martin. Tongues of Fire: The Explosion of Protestantism in Latin America (1990);

     -     Forbidden Revolutions: Pentecostalism in Latin American and Catholicism in Eastern Europe (1996);

     -     Pentecostalism: The World Their Parish (2002);

Stark. American Piety (1968);

     -     The Churching of America 1776-1992: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy (1992);

     -     The Rise of Mormonism (2005);

Tawney. Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (1926);

Tocqueville. Democracy in America (2021, in French 1835, 1840);

Weber Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: and Other Writings (2002, in German 1920);

Wilson B. Sects and Society: The Sociology of  Three Religious Groups in Britain (1961).

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