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Max Weber
The author of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. In it, Weber examines religion as a primarily social force, one that is largely responsible for developing non-religious aspects of society—in particular, the…
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Martin Luther
A German monk who initiated the Protestant Reformation, and the father of Lutheranism. Although once a Catholic himself, Luther rebelled against the Catholic Church’s mediation between individual Christians and God. Most importantly for…
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John Calvin
A French theologian who helped lead the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland, and the father of Calvinism. Calvin developed the doctrine of predestination, that teaches that God elected which human beings will be saved…
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Minor Characters
Richard Baxter
A pastor and writer and a representative of English Puritanism. Weber uses Baxter to demonstrate the Puritan view of asceticism, which holds that wealth itself is not evil, but the idleness that results from enjoying one’s wealth is.
Benjamin Franklin
One of the American Founding Fathers. Weber uses Franklin to demonstrate the capitalist spirit by including an excerpt from one of Franklin’s writings, in which he gives simple economic advice dressed in moralistic language, like a sermon, and describes making profit as a person’s ethical responsibility.
