Protestant work ethic

The Protestant work ethic,^[1] also known as the Calvinist work ethic^[2] or the Puritan work ethic,^[3] is a work ethic concept in sociology, economics, and history. It emphasizes that a person's subscription to the values espoused by the Protestant faith, particularly Calvinism, result in diligence, discipline, and frugality.^[4]

The phrase was initially coined in 1905 by pioneering sociologist Max Weber in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.^[5] Weber asserted that Protestant ethics and values, along with the Calvinist doctrines of asceticism and predestination, enabled the rise and spread of capitalism.^[6] Just as priests and caring professionals are deemed to have a vocation (or "calling" from God) for their work, according to the Protestant work ethic the "lowly" workman also has a noble vocation which he can fulfill through dedication to his work.

It is one of the most influential and cited books in sociology, although the thesis presented has been controversial since its release. In opposition to Weber, historians such as Fernand Braudel and Hugh Trevor-Roper assert that the Protestant work ethic did not create capitalism and that capitalism developed in pre-Reformation Catholic communities. Historian Laurence R. Iannaccone has written that "the most noteworthy feature of the Protestant Ethic thesis is its absence of empirical support."^[7]

The concept is often credited with helping to define the self-view of societies of Northern, Central and Northwestern Europe as well as the United States of America.^[8][9]