The Protestant Ethic: Time for a Moratorium
American sociologists continue to use the Protestant Ethic hypothesis as a theoretical framework in studying the presumed differences between Catholics and Protestants in this country. However, a review of recent studies indicates that this hypothesis is anything but fruitful. It is suggested that t...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
1964
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| In: |
Sociological analysis
Year: 1964, Volume: 25, Issue: 1, Pages: 20-33 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | American sociologists continue to use the Protestant Ethic hypothesis as a theoretical framework in studying the presumed differences between Catholics and Protestants in this country. However, a review of recent studies indicates that this hypothesis is anything but fruitful. It is suggested that the survival of the Protestant Ethic as a testable theory is due to a misunderstanding of Weber, an oversimplification of history, an ignorance of the pluralistic nature of Catholicism, and a refusal to be persuaded by empirical data. It is doubtful that sociological study of American religion will make much progress until a moratorium is proclaimed on further use of the current simplistic version of the Weberian theory. |
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| ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3710540 |
