Why "Protestant" Work Ethic?

[faithsmind]

Why is it a thing? Did a bit of googling, and this work ethic seems to have Puritan and Calvanistic roots. I find that interesting, since both approaches are extremely anti-art/iconoclastic in their worship styles. So my theory is that this revolt against art seems to have affected their overall approach to life in general.

Would anyone care to think about and discuss why this is a phenomenon?

What confuses me to a large extent in the development of this cultural characteristic is the common Protestant-held belief of faith without works.

 

[minkymurph]

In my part of the world they used to talk about the ‘Protestant work ethic.’ It was founded on stereotypical notions of Catholics in they were lazy and didn’t work. What generated this stereotypical notion is Catholics were poorer, and more likely to be unemployed due to discrimination - they were allowed to do certain jobs or own businesses other than a pub.

 

[Rhubarb]

It comes from a book by Max Weber called The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. It’s an early work of sociology.

To put it extraordinarily over-simplified, Certain Protestant denominations equate success with an outward sign of God’s Grace. And Weber argued that Protestantism saw their day-to-day business as worship, and took it that way. And that when business loses that spiritual connection, things get bad. Weber coined the term ‘the iron cage’ in the work, describing the situation when capitalism loses that spiritual connection, and is reduced to cold hard numbers and soulless economics. It’s bad for everyone.

 

[Kliska]

It’s because of certain groups of protestants having a specific theology that speaks to a person’s material wealth in this life, and one’s actions. For example in Calvinist theology, whether one is blessed by God or not is a sign of being part of the elect. Hard work, health, and the material benefit of those things were seen as external signs that one was indeed elect; if the work of one’s hands was blessed, God was the one doing the blessing.

There was also strict readings of scripture, such as if you don’t work you don’t eat. Working hard was seen to be a commanded “virtue.” When you had large communities of these like-minded believers, one can see why they did indeed achieve a lot of things via working with their hands.

 

[christofirst]

Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski from Poland addressed this back in 1946:

“Those who love and exalt work, those who see it as the greatest social force and even the highest aim in human life, often have reservations about the Catholic attitude. Catholics are felt to be less efficient. Catholic nations are out of the running when it comes to the competition for work; they need the example of non-Catholic, Protestant, Calvinist or Communist countries, whose different approaches to work have helped them to achieve great prosperity.”

What’s missing in the “nose-to-the-grindstone” approach to work, which has sometimes been associated with the American version of the Protestant work ethic, is balance:

“It is very easy for overworked people to become materialists. Poets can write so beautifully of times of work in nature’s bosom, while the actual workers do not even see the nature that surrounds them… Theirs is usually a utilitarian and material attitude to nature, and this is the result of too one-sided, too heavy work. It is necessary therefore to conserve man’s strength for life’s tasks as a whole.”

“Life’s tasks as a whole,” from a Catholic perspective, should include time for “unproductive” pursuits, such as art, reflection, rest and recreation.

 

[faithsmind]

It’s because of certain groups of protestants having a specific theology that speaks to a person’s material wealth in this life, and one’s actions. For example in Calvinist theology, whether one is blessed by God or not is a sign of being part of the elect. Hard work, health, and the material benefit of those things were seen as external signs that one was indeed elect; if the work of one’s hands was blessed, God was the one doing the blessing.

There was also strict readings of scripture, such as if you don’t work you don’t eat. Working hard was seen to be a commanded “virtue.” When you had large communities of these like-minded believers, one can see why they did indeed achieve a lot of things via working with their hands.

You bring up predestination here. I still find it very hard to believe that such a primary value of work ethic would develop simply for show, to display to others that you are blessed as one of the predestined. Of course, if one were predestined, it would have nothing to do with “earning” themselves a spot in heaven through the virtue of work. I am confused on how, ironically, the prosperity gospel philosophy has come to be (it seems to me) the primary virtue of a people who believe that faith is unrelated to, literally, work, or “works” as it is usually coined. I

Perhaps is it more that Protestantism had no use for their own personal suffering, saw little value for their own participation in the cross of Christ’s redemptive suffering.

I agree it originates with austerity, rule-following, strictness… but why the austerity in the face of predestination?

 

[faithsmind]

It comes from a book by Max Weber called The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. It’s an early work of sociology.

To put it extraordinarily over-simplified, Certain Protestant denominations equate success with an outward sign of God’s Grace. And Weber argued that Protestantism saw their day-to-day business as worship, and took it that way. And that when business loses that spiritual connection, things get bad. Weber coined the term ‘the iron cage’ in the work, describing the situation when capitalism loses that spiritual connection, and is reduced to cold hard numbers and soulless economics. It’s bad for everyone.

Just rereading this here. So you are saying that the actual work is seen as a form of worship? I’ve never heard it put this way, but that would make sense, and I guess this would answer my question about why there is such an emphasis on work if they hold the belief that one would enter heaven and maintain a relationship of faith without outward works.

Why would this central perspective develop from a Calvanistic approach to the gospel? It seems detached from the emphasis of seeing, honoring and serving Christ in each other…

 

[faithsmind]

Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski from Poland addressed this back in 1946:

“Those who love and exalt work, those who see it as the greatest social force and even the highest aim in human life, often have reservations about the Catholic attitude. Catholics are felt to be less efficient. Catholic nations are out of the running when it comes to the competition for work; they need the example of non-Catholic, Protestant, Calvinist or Communist countries, whose different approaches to work have helped them to achieve great prosperity.”

What’s missing in the “nose-to-the-grindstone” approach to work, which has sometimes been associated with the American version of the Protestant work ethic, is balance:

“It is very easy for overworked people to become materialists. Poets can write so beautifully of times of work in nature’s bosom, while the actual workers do not even see the nature that surrounds them… Theirs is usually a utilitarian and material attitude to nature, and this is the result of too one-sided, too heavy work. It is necessary therefore to conserve man’s strength for life’s tasks as a whole.”

“Life’s tasks as a whole,” from a Catholic perspective, should include time for “unproductive” pursuits, such as art, reflection, rest and recreation.

This is very beautiful. Thanks for sharing. And yes, there is a troubling absence of an emphasis on devotion, silence, and well, community formation of things such as monasticism etc. in Protestant denominations.

 

[TK421]

It’s because of certain groups of protestants having a specific theology that speaks to a person’s material wealth in this life, and one’s actions. For example in Calvinist theology, whether one is blessed by God or not is a sign of being part of the elect. Hard work, health, and the material benefit of those things were seen as external signs that one was indeed elect; if the work of one’s hands was blessed, God was the one doing the blessing.

There was also strict readings of scripture, such as if you don’t work you don’t eat. Working hard was seen to be a commanded “virtue.” When you had large communities of these like-minded believers, one can see why they did indeed achieve a lot of things via working with their hands.

Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski from Poland addressed this back in 1946:

“Those who love and exalt work, those who see it as the greatest social force and even the highest aim in human life, often have reservations about the Catholic attitude. Catholics are felt to be less efficient. Catholic nations are out of the running when it comes to the competition for work; they need the example of non-Catholic, Protestant, Calvinist or Communist countries, whose different approaches to work have helped them to achieve great prosperity.”

What’s missing in the “nose-to-the-grindstone” approach to work, which has sometimes been associated with the American version of the Protestant work ethic, is balance:

“It is very easy for overworked people to become materialists. Poets can write so beautifully of times of work in nature’s bosom, while the actual workers do not even see the nature that surrounds them… Theirs is usually a utilitarian and material attitude to nature, and this is the result of too one-sided, too heavy work. It is necessary therefore to conserve man’s strength for life’s tasks as a whole.”

“Life’s tasks as a whole,” from a Catholic perspective, should include time for “unproductive” pursuits, such as art, reflection, rest and recreation.

This and this

Protestants frequently saw material success as a sign of God’s favor, and since energies were less directed towards art, contemplation, and other seemingly idle pursuits, they were all the more directed towards business pursuits.

Other than the difficulties of not having a Magisterium, I think this is also responsible for the greater apostasy of ex-Protestant nations that are now secular. Having a strongly business-oriented mindset made it easier for a wholly materialist worldview to enter German-Nordic society.

Each nation & culture is unique though. France and England both fall somewhere in between. France, while remaining Catholic, was heavily affected by Calvinism to a much greater extent than Spain or Italy. It was very much a “front line” Catholic nation. England, with its Anglican Church, lost the Magisterium, but retained many Catholic elements that were not retained with Luther & Calvin’s spiritual descendents.

The United States is another unique animal. It has strong protestant roots, but by the 19th century it had adopted a unique worldview from the colder, more systematic protestant state churches of Europe. Protestantism in the United States developed a strong charismatic spirituality that kept its congregations vibrant and active. The positive aspect of this is that the United States has been more resistant to materialist thought. The downside is that the union of science, logic, and theology has been to some extent damaged, and replaced with a spirituality that is lopsidedly emotional.

As we move forward in time, the lines between protestantism and Catholicism will become more blended, since societies are becoming more diverse.

 

[Kliska]

You bring up predestination here. I still find it very hard to believe that such a primary value of work ethic would develop simply for show, to display to others that you are blessed as one of the predestined. Of course, if one were predestined, it would have nothing to do with “earning” themselves a spot in heaven through the virtue of work. I am confused on how, ironically, the prosperity gospel philosophy has come to be (it seems to me) the primary virtue of a people who believe that faith is unrelated to, literally, work, or “works” as it is usually coined. I

Perhaps is it more that Protestantism had no use for their own personal suffering, saw little value for their own participation in the cross of Christ’s redemptive suffering.

I agree it originates with austerity, rule-following, strictness… but why the austerity in the face of predestination?

Imagine a system where you are either elect or not, there’s no in between, there’s no amount of anything to “make” yourself one of the elect as you have no free will. There’s only signs whether or not you are. Now imagine you live in communities of like-minded believers; whole villages and towns where the people truly believe that they are made up of only 2 kinds of people, those predestined for Heaven, and those predestined for Hell, the righteous and the damned… I’d imagine one would work one’s tail off to soothe the mind and show neighbors who is one of the “good ones” predestined from all eternity and chosen by God. In short, you can’t make yourself elect, but you can show evidence that you already are.

I don’t think it was all about austerity per se, but rather a way of ordering life in a way that “works” in a literal sense. If you work hard, take care of your farm or business, and everyone pulls their own weight… well, it probably would work out in actual fact, not just philosophically.

 

[faithsmind]

Imagine a system where you are either elect or not, there’s no in between, there’s no amount of anything to “make” yourself one of the elect as you have no free will. There’s only signs whether or not you are. Now imagine you live in communities of like-minded believers; whole villages and towns where the people truly believe that they are made up of only 2 kinds of people, those predestined for Heaven, and those predestined for Hell, the righteous and the damned… I’d imagine one would work one’s tail off to soothe the mind and show neighbors who is one of the “good ones” predestined from all eternity and chosen by God. In short, you can’t make yourself elect, but you can show evidence that you already are.

I don’t think it was all about austerity per se, but rather a way of ordering life in a way that “works” in a literal sense. If you work hard, take care of your farm or business, and everyone pulls their own weight… well, it probably would work out in actual fact, not just philosophically.

Pondering on the psychology behind the motivation is fascinating. I’m not completely sold on your theory. So, the need to feel like, and prove to oneself and others that they are a “chosen one” seems to take priority over the development of one’s spiritual, interior life? And this is because it is so simplistically predetermined, a yes or a no category?

 

[reader124]

Because the catholics were into dancing and alchoholism.

 

[faithsmind]

Because the catholics were into dancing and alchoholism.

Cheers.

Catholics TEND to look down on what is now labeled as The Prosperity Gospels. Protestant work ethic is not an oversimplified stereotype of all Protestants as your statement is on Catholics. It is a cultural phenomenon which has greatly affected the social and political developments of the world, most notably the U.S.

 

[Kliska]

Pondering on the psychology behind the motivation is fascinating. I’m not completely sold on your theory. So, the need to feel like, and prove to oneself and others that they are a “chosen one” seems to take priority over the development of one’s spiritual, interior life? And this is because it is so simplistically predetermined, a yes or a no category?

I can’t take credit for the theory (but I see the logic in it)! For example, from the dreaded wikipedia

"*Protestants, beginning with Martin Luther, reconceptualized worldly work as a duty which benefits both the individual and society as a whole. Thus, the Catholic idea of good works was transformed into an obligation to consistently work diligently as a sign of grace. Whereas Catholicism teaches that good works are required of Catholics as a necessary manifestation of the faith they received, and that faith apart from works is dead (James 2:14–26) and barren, the Calvinist theologians taught that only those who were predestined (cf. the Calvinist concept of double predestination) to be saved would be saved.

Since it was impossible to know who was predestined, the notion developed that it might be possible to discern that a person was elect (predestined) by observing their way of life. Hard work and frugality were thought to be two important consequences of being one of the elect. Protestants were thus attracted to these qualities and supposed to strive for reaching them.*"

So, yes, in effect developing interior life would not be seen as a necessity since they claim that you can’t know why God chose why He did in the first place. Protestants such as myself would say, of course you can, grace through faith, Protestants such as Calvinists deny that you can know that.

Also, I may add, I feel that it was a necessity to survival in many landscapes to have this type of work ethic regardless of the philosophy behind it, and the teachings that if you keep busy and physically work your tail off, you’re less likely to engage in at least idle sin.

 

[reader124]

Because the catholics were into dancing and alchoholism.

Would it be a sin to have a shot (or two) before going to confession just to calm your nerves? (Walking there, of course, not driving.)

My point.

 

[John_Lazarus]

Imagine a system where you are either elect or not, there’s no in between, there’s no amount of anything to “make” yourself one of the elect as you have no free will. There’s only signs whether or not you are. Now imagine you live in communities of like-minded believers; whole villages and towns where the people truly believe that they are made up of only 2 kinds of people, those predestined for Heaven, and those predestined for Hell, the righteous and the damned… I’d imagine one would work one’s tail off to soothe the mind and show neighbors who is one of the “good ones” predestined from all eternity and chosen by God. In short, you can’t make yourself elect, but you can show evidence that you already are.

I suppose in Calvinist circles then, it only rains on the unjust.

And given that the Apostles were pretty much poor, itinerant preachers, and were persecuted and martyred almost to a man – by gosh, they must have been among the damned, or they would have been more successful.

Like instead of being all in one Accord, they might of had at least a Lexus.

 

[John_Lazarus]

Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski from Poland addressed this back in 1946:

“Those who love and exalt work, those who see it as the greatest social force and even the highest aim in human life, often have reservations about the Catholic attitude. Catholics are felt to be less efficient. Catholic nations are out of the running when it comes to the competition for work; they need the example of non-Catholic, Protestant, Calvinist or Communist countries, whose different approaches to work have helped them to achieve great prosperity.”

What’s missing in the “nose-to-the-grindstone” approach to work, which has sometimes been associated with the American version of the Protestant work ethic, is balance:

“It is very easy for overworked people to become materialists. Poets can write so beautifully of times of work in nature’s bosom, while the actual workers do not even see the nature that surrounds them… Theirs is usually a utilitarian and material attitude to nature, and this is the result of too one-sided, too heavy work. It is necessary therefore to conserve man’s strength for life’s tasks as a whole.”

“Life’s tasks as a whole,” from a Catholic perspective, should include time for “unproductive” pursuits, such as art, reflection, rest and recreation.

Yes. Remember Martha toiling away at housework while Mary sat and listened to Jesus? Jesus said Mary’s was “the better portion”.

 

[Rhubarb]

Just rereading this here. So you are saying that the actual work is seen as a form of worship? I’ve never heard it put this way, but that would make sense, and I guess this would answer my question about why there is such an emphasis on work if they hold the belief that one would enter heaven and maintain a relationship of faith without outward works.

Why would this central perspective develop from a Calvanistic approach to the gospel? It seems detached from the emphasis of seeing, honoring and serving Christ in each other…

I mean, it depends on the denomination. For instance, Anabaptists considered (I think still do, through the Amish) that the usual business of the day (work) can be worship.

The trick is that for especially the early Protestant groups, it was impossible to know for sure who was among the Elect - but there were outward signs. A pious person is more likely to be among the Elect. So to a person who is diligent and frugal and hard-working. These were all signs of Grace that we could see in our neighbors. Weber argues that the Protestant work ethic derives from that. The book is a fascinating read, though it’s very dated. Our modern business life really smashed apart that old way of doing things.

It isn’t really a dig against Catholics. Or at least, wasn’t meant to be. Catholic theology has a different understanding of… I’m not sure how to describe it… Of how salvation works, and the wheres and hows of worship. I think you can see it in the difference between how (traditionally) business is conducted in Spain/Latin America and Protestant north Europe. Weber didn’t have anything bad (that I can remember) to say about Catholics. What Weber was critical about was when business loses that… spiritual connection. It turns the work into soulless ethicless scrooging - a mechanical heartless ruthlessly efficient thing where we earn for earnings sake instead of for a purpose. We get locked in the “iron cage”, or what we might call the “rat race” today.

 

[Kliska]

I suppose in Calvinist circles then, it only rains on the unjust.

Or, given the agrarian nature of many of these folks, it only rains on the just…

And given that the Apostles were pretty much poor, itinerant preachers, and were persecuted and martyred almost to a man – by gosh, they must have been among the damned, or they would have been more successful.

Like instead of being all in one Accord, they might of had at least a Lexus.

 

[faithsmind]

It isn’t really a dig against Catholics. Or at least, wasn’t meant to be. Catholic theology has a different understanding of… I’m not sure how to describe it… Of how salvation works, and the wheres and hows of worship. I think you can see it in the difference between how (traditionally) business is conducted in Spain/Latin America and Protestant north Europe. Weber didn’t have anything bad (that I can remember) to say about Catholics. What Weber was critical about was when business loses that… spiritual connection. It turns the work into soulless ethicless scrooging - a mechanical heartless ruthlessly efficient thing where we earn for earnings sake instead of for a purpose. We get locked in the “iron cage”, or what we might call the “rat race” today.

I don’t personally take Protestant work ethic as a dig at Catholics or as anything in relation to Catholics. I personally don’t see “work” as the highest good lol, though I know it is held in that esteem by many Americans.

Weber points out that work was a form of worship for Protestants, and I think this is very significant. I’m realizing now, that Protestants find themselves without the full extent of liturgy, the communion of saints, and the words, actions, songs, and demonstrations of worship that the Catholic Church provides–things which the Calvanists might determine as misleading distractions. They failed to realize that the body, those things of the earth deemed sacred, (such as the Virgin) would actually lead towards God, and was a way to celebrate God.

But yet, I believe they still naturally felt compelled to be in relationship with God and to live in a way which lives this love out, just as a person in love with someone would want to give his affections to the person he loves, and show that person his love, or wear a ring to identify as married as an outward sign of that commitment. I guess that’s why the theory that work was only meant as a way to prove to neighbors that they were Christian enough doesn’t make sense to me, falls short.

And yet, participating in outward signs of love, in liturgy, or showing outward works of love towards neighbor could be considered too “Catholic”, and looked upon as a way of "earning their way to heaven. Whereas purely doing what they must do in a most responsible and virtuous way would be the only way, the acceptable way of worship or communion with God. And so it became a primary source of reaching a connection with God, pleasing God, which is a natural instinct for a person who is in love with Christ.