The Protestant Ethic Turns 100

Marking the centennial anniversary of the first publication of Max Weber's "Protestant Ethic" essays, a group of internationally recognized Weber scholars review the significance of Weber's essays by addressing their original context, historical reception, and ongoing relevance. Lawrence Scaff, Hartmut Lehmann, Philip Gorski, Stephen Kalberg, Martin Riesebrodt, Donald Nielsen, Peter Kivisto, and the editors offer original perspectives that engage Weber's indelible work so as to inform current issues central to sociology, history, religious studies, political science, economics, and cultural studies. Available in several English translations, the Protestant Ethic is listed by the International Sociological Association among the top five "Books of the Century." The Protestant Ethic continues to be a standard assigned reading in undergraduate and graduate courses, spanning a variety of academic disciplines.

Faith and learning, scholarship and piety, Christian tradition and intellectual inquiry, head and hearts: How do these things come together in an informative, enriching, and interdependent way? The calling of Christian higher education is to reflect the life of Christ and to shine the light of truth. That distinctive mission cannot be forced into an either/or framework but rather a both/and calling. It is a commitment to Jesus Christ himself, who is both fully God and fully human and who for Christian educators is both light and life. This multi-authored volume, with dynamic contributions from entry-level faculty members to seasoned scholars, explores the question of the Christian faith’s place on the university campus, whether in administrative matters, the broader academic world, or in student life. Philosophy, Sociology, Science, Arts, Business, Media; Faith and Learning explores how significant Christian thinkers have addressed such topics and their related issues throughout the history of the church. The historical, theological, and biblical framework will help students interact with and engage contemporary challenges to the Christian faith in the various fields of study and inquiry. Contributors include Harry L. Poe, Gene C. Fant, Jr., Ken Magnuson, Klaus Issler, Gregory A. Thornbury, Taylor Worley, John T. Netland, Scott Huelin, James A. Patterson, Hunter Baker, Roman R. Williams, Steve Halla, Christopher W. Mathews, Kevin Trowbridge, Mark Bolyard, Jeannette Russ, E. Blake Watkins, Mary Anne Poe, Emily Lean, Thomas Rosebrough, Ralph Leverett, Kimberly C. Thornbury, and C. Ben Mitchell.

Reflections on the rise and transformative power of a new social consciousness.

Max Weber and The Protestant Ethic: Twin Histories presents an entirely new portrait of Max Weber, one of the most prestigious social theorists in recent history, using his most famous work, The Protestant Ethic and the "Spirit" of Capitalism, as its central point of reference. It offers an intellectual biography of Weber framed along historical lines - something which has never been done before. It re-evaluates The Protestant Ethic — a text surprisingly neglected by scholars — supplying a missing intellectual and chronological centre to Weber's life and work. Peter Ghosh suggests that The Protestant Ethic is the link which unites the earlier (pre-1900) and later (post-1910) phases of his career. He offers a series of fresh perspectives on Weber's thought in various areas — charisma, capitalism, law, politics, rationality, bourgeois life, and (not least) Weber's unusual religious thinking, which was 'remote from god' yet based on close dialogue with Christian theology. This approach produces a convincing view of Max Weber as a whole; while previously the sheer breadth of his intellectual interests has caused him to be read in a fragmentary way according to a series of specialized viewpoints, this volume seeks to put him back together again as a real individual.

This book asks why tax policy is both attracted to and repelled by the idea of justice. Accepting the invitation of economist Henry Simons to acknowledge that tax justice is a theological concept, the work explores theological doctrines of taxation to answer the presenting question. The overall message of the book is that taxation is an instrument of justice, but only when taxes take into account multiple goods in society: the requirements of the government, the property rights of society’s members, and the material needs of the poor. It is argued that this answer to the presenting question is a theological and ethical answer in that it derives from the insistence of Christian thinkers that tax policy take into account material human need (necessitas). Without the necessitas component of the tax balance, tax systems end up honoring only one of the three components of the tax equation and cease to reflect a coherent idea of justice. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers working in the areas of tax law, economics, theology, and history.

Understanding Weber provides an accessible and comprehensive explanation of the central issues of Weber's work. Using the most recent scholarship and editions of Weber's writings, Sam Whimster establishes the full range, depth and development of Max Weber's approach to the social and cultural sciences. This ground-breaking book: locates the central issues in Weber's writings and relates them to the golden era of social and cultural sciences argues that Weber remains the major exponent of the classical tradition still relevant today offers a new interpretation of the dynamic of Weber’s career as historian, social-economist, methodologist and sociologist. Weber's sociology still stands as a successful and valid underwriting of the substantive fields of power, law, rulership, culture, religion, civilizational configurations, and economic sociology. At a time of the turning away from grand theory to empirical policy studies, this book asserts the authority of Weber's conception and calls for a critical engagement with his legacy in order to understand the dynamics of a globalizing modernity. This is an indispensable guide to Weber's writings and will be an invaluable companion to The Essential Weber (2004). The book closely tracks the development of Weber’s thinking, an exploration that will make it an obligatory choice for undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as researchers in the fields of sociological theory, economic sociology and cultural studies.

While in the 16-17th centuries about the two thirds of the Hungarians belonged to the Reformed Church, the presence of the "spirit of capitalism" and the "protestant ethic" is rather questionable. The Calvinists did not played a different or decisive role in the capitalisation process of Hungary at the end of the 19th century. The historical analysis focuses on the puritan doctrines can be foun in the religiosity of Hungarian puritans and Reformed people in the 17th century. The "Hungarian Protestant ethic" differs from Weber's ideal-type in two respects: the Hungarian version is more pietistic, less activist; and it seems to have less practical influence in everyday life because of the weak religiosity. The Hungarian case does not refute Weber's thesis, but it call the attention to two important parts of historical analysis: the reinterpreting, selecting procedure in social context; and the intensity of religiosity.

A timely examination of social policy through a social constructivist and economic lens, Social Policy and Social Change illuminates the root causes of common social problems and how policy has attempted to ameliorate them. In so doing, the book focuses on how social policies in the United States can be transformed to promote social justice for all groups. The book uniquely offers both an historical analysis of social problems and social policies, and an economic analysis of how capitalism and the market economy have contributed to social problems and impacted social policies. The book goes beyond the U.S. borders to examine the impact of globalization in the United States and in the Global South. It considers the meaning and impact of the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States and explores the policy solutions his administration has proposed to deal with the economic recession of 2008-2009. The book also discusses social workers as agents of social change and advocates of social and economic justice. It examines five key realms: Poverty in families and the welfare system, poverty among the elderly and social security, child maltreatment and child welfare policy, health and mental health policy, and housing policy. Social Policy and Social Change is a primary text for social policy/social welfare policy courses in MSW programs and possibly some higher level BSW programs. It will be supplemented with a comprehensive ancillary program, including a test bank, instructor's manual, and student website.