Prosperity and Religion (A), (B), (1)

This chapter discusses the prosperity–religion link and reviews some prominent empirical studies refuting and confirming Weber’s thesis and balancing the evidence gathered. It also emphasises the importance of seriously considering the institutional (and hegemonic) influence of religion in addition to the cultural influence (of religious adherents). The historical institutional influence of religion has been the crucial factor with regard to prosperity/transparency (more than the current proportion of adherents).The relationships of prosperity vis-à-vis religion as a predictor (independent) variable (e.g. Weber) or as a criterion (dependent) variable (e.g. Marx) reinforce each other and produced a vast body of theories and empirical studies. In the first causal arrow, Weber’s explanations and findings in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism has attracted much criticism over the last century. The debate remains polarised.The second causal arrow (religion as a dependent variable vis-à-vis prosperity) resulted in, among others, secularisation theories focusing on either the supply or demand-side of religion. The theory of existential security is an influential model that empirically focuses on the variations of the demand-side and revises the secularisation theory.

Max Weber and the chemistry of the Protestant ethic

This article aims to reconstruct a possible interpretation of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism through the concept of elective affinity, which, as I have read, records fundamental implications for social science thinking. I argue that, in contrast to mechanical descriptions, Weber’s model sought to capture social phenomena through interactions between elements with heterogeneous qualitative properties. This effort, in turn, bears a very strong resemblance to the operation of social science models examining the functioning of complex systems. In line with this, I proceed as follows: first, I briefly outline the backbone of the argument of The Protestant Ethic, and then, through the concept of elective affinity, show how it can be fitted into one of the defining lines of current social science approaches. In line with this, I attempt to discuss the argument of The Protestant Ethic in the context of agent-based models. I argue that Weber’s approach can be seen as essentially a prototype of agent-based modeling.

Ethos versus Habitus: the Ethical Component in Max Weber’s “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”

This article focuses on Max Weber’s understanding of “ethos” in “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” and the benefits afforded by this concept. The reference is not accidental as it is in this work that Weber could consistently explicate his ethical argument. The idea of ethos becomes clearer in comparison with the concept of habitus, which is actively used today in social science. It is shown that the distinction between ethos and habitus may be more productive than the conflation common in modern research. The category “ethos” is compared with the value-rational action from the later typology of action in Weber’s “Economy and Society”, while habitus is associated with traditional action from the same typology. The concept of ethos is further clarified by the example of Weber’s opposition of traditionalism and ethical modern Western capitalism. By focusing on ethical issues and using character as a theoretical tool, Weber not only puts forward a convincing interpretation but lays the foundations for a specific line of analysis in social and economic science. The category of ethos in conjunction with the value-rational type of action acquires special significance due to the potential for novelty and change that is embedded in it.