The ethics of religious affiliation and social stratification Essay

The ethics of religious affiliation and social stratification - Essay Example Studies by important sociologists, economists, and politicians of the world today confirm that there is an essential connection between the spirit of modern economic life, which is supported by the theories of capitalism, and the rational ethics of ascetic Protestantism. In one of the most important work on the topic, Max Weber establishes that the spirit of capitalism in northern Europe was greatly influenced by the Protestant (predominantly Calvinist) ethic. Thus, Weber indicates that the work ethic of Protestantism immensely contributed to the growth of capitalism in the Western world, transforming the unplanned and uncoordinated mass into actions driven by the spirit of capitalism. â€Å"But not all the Protestant denominations seem to have had an equally strong influence in this direction. That of Calvinism, even in Germany, was among the strongest, it seems, and the reformed faith more than the others seems to have promoted the development of the spirit of capitalism, in the W upperthal as well as elsewhere.† (Weber, 43) Therefore, in a profound analysis of the relationship between religious affiliation and social stratification, it becomes lucid that the ethics of Protestantism has played an essential role in the development of the spirit of capitalism.