  the protestant work ethic (or the puritan work ethic) is a concept in theology, sociology, economics and history which emphasizes hard work, frugality and diligence as a constant display of a person's salvation in the christian faith, in contrast to the focus upon religious attendance, confession, and ceremonial sacrament in the catholic tradition. the phrase was initially coined in 1904 by max weber in his book the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. == basis in protestant theology ==  it is argued that protestants, beginning with martin luther, had 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 () 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, as well as social success and wealth, 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. ==history== the term was first coined by max weber in his the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism, written in 1904&ndash;05. the protestant work ethic is often credited with helping to define the societies of northern europe and other countries where protestantism was common (for example, the scandinavian countries, the netherlands, germany, switzerland, the united kingdom, canada, and the united states of america). writer frank chodorov argued that the protestant ethic was long considered indispensable for american political figures: {{quote| there was a time, in these united states, when a candidate for public office could qualify with the electorate only by fixing his birthplace in or near the "log cabin." he may have acquired a competence, or e
Max_Weber Protestantism Sociological_theories Virtue