Despite the extensive critical analysis of Weber’s thesis, the argument retains an attraction for those who are sympathetic to its claims of Protestant supremacy, in business terms at least. David Miller and Timothy Ewest (2010) demonstrate the extent to which Weber’s thesis can find a particularly sympathetic hearing in modern-day America, where the authors refer to “the recent emergence of intense scholarly interest in the study of the connections between religion/spirituality and the workplace”. This no doubt refers in part to a new academic unit set up by the author David Miller, the Faith & Work Initiative under Princeton University’s Center for the Study of Religion[3].
The same authors develop this theme further in Judi Neal (ed.) (2013), with a research paper investigating the application of Weber’s thesis in an American context. Their paper considers the positive impacts in particular of Calvinist and Puritan strands of Christianity, deriving from the doctrine of predestination, which can be taken to claim that material success is a sign of God’s blessing and pleasure. It claims there are five ‘theological accents’ that can be determined in manifestations of the Protestant work ethic:
- An accent on personal purpose or calling in daily life
- A Protestant accent on stewardship (related to what some call “co-regency”)
- A Protestant accent on economic justice and business ethics
- A Protestant accent on lifestyle modesty within success, coupled with a spirit of radical generosity
- A Protestant accent on the expression of one’s faith, often called evangelism.
The authors are open about their partisan approach to the subject, and start their paper with the revealing statement: “All roads do not lead to Rome, and despite the wishful thinking of many, all religions do not believe the same thing.”
Richard Higginson (2012) considers the broader issue of Weber’s thesis and while acknowledging the flaws in its detail believes there is some value in its overall conclusion that Protestant countries do have a propensity towards capitalism. He also believes theological distortions have been introduced in the ways in which others have attempted to make faith-based claims for their attitude towards work and money. These three distortions are listed as prosperity theology, anti-capitalist theology and the sacred-secular divide, in which even devout Christians keep their faith separate from their working life. Higginson cites two striking examples of the latter: the CEO of Enron, Kenneth Lay, a devout Baptist who claimed his company’s ethical code was based on Christian values, and the CEO of WorldCom, Bernie Ebbers, a Sunday school teacher in his local church, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiracy and fraud. Higginson also cites many other positive examples of Christian leadership in his extensive study of this topic, including Mr T. S. Wong, chairman of toy manufacturer Jetta Company Ltd, a Christian who puts significantly higher emphasis on employee welfare than comparable manufacturing businesses in the region. The working week is usually no more than 40 hours, and libraries, evening classes and open recreational space are provided for employees.