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Work Ethic, Social Ethic, no Ethic: Measuring the Economic Values of Modern Christians
Author(s) -
Colvin Christopher L.,
McCracken Matthew
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of applied econometrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.878
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1099-1255
pISSN - 0883-7252
DOI - 10.1002/jae.2543
Subject(s) - protestant work ethic , work ethic , asceticism , protestantism , sociology , general social survey , religious values , work (physics) , religious studies , social science , law , political science , philosophy , theology , islam , capitalism , mechanical engineering , politics , engineering
Summary Benito Arruñada finds evidence of a distinct Protestant social ethic in the ISSP's 1998 Religion II Survey ( Economic Journal 2010; 120 : 890–918). We replicate Arruñada's results using his broad definition of Protestantism and our new narrow definition, which includes only those ascetic denominations that Max Weber singled out for possessing a strong capitalist work ethic. We then extend this analysis to the ISSP's 2008 Religion III Survey, the most recent comparable international questionnaire on religious attitudes and religious change. We find no evidence of a Calvinist work ethic, and suggest that Arruñada's Protestant social ethic continues into the 21st century. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.