Weber on Religion

NATIONAL LAW INSTITUTE

UNIVERSITY, BHOPAL

Weber on Religion

JURISPRUDENCE-II

SUBMITTED TO: PROFESSOR DIKSHIT

SUBMITTED BY: SHOHINI SENGUPTA

ROLL NUMBER: 2007/BA LLB(HONS)/67

ENROLLMENT ID: A-0755

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Weber on Religion

Table of Contents:

INTRODUCTION: 2

RELIGION AND CAPITALISM: 4

WEBER ON INDIA: 8

THE HINDU SOCIAL SYSTEM: 8

HINDU ORTHODOXY AND BRAHMIN RESTORATION: 8
SECULAR ETHIC AND IMPACT OF HINDU BELIEFS ON ECONOMY: 9
ASIAN BELIEF SYSTEMS: 9

CONCLUSION: 10

ON WORLD RELIGION: 11

Bibliography: 12

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Weber on Religion

Introduction:
Max Weber's (1864-1920) sociology is the foundation of scientific sociology of religion
in a sense of typological and objective understanding. Rejecting Karl Marx's evolutionary
law of class society, or Emile Durkheim's sustained law of moral society, Weber
established the understanding sociology of the subjective meaning of religious action or
inaction. To make such knowledge of the understanding objective, he founded the
methodology of the ideal type and the elective affinity of causal relationships. Weber
"elaborated a set of categories, such as types of prophecy, the idea of charisma (spiritual
power), routinization, and other categories, which became tools to deal with the
comparative material; he was thus the real founder of comparative sociology." 1 Weber
holds that there is no universal law of society as supposed in natural science, or the law of
history which determines the course of the dynamic mechanically. The goal of Weber's
sociology of religion is to understand religious action from the subjective meaning of the
actor rationally and also emphatically; it is not to establish the laws of religion and
society, or to extract the essence of religious action. Or the goal is not even to formulate
and evaluate the social function of religion as Marx did that religion was the opium of the
mass or as Durkheim did that religion was what made moral society hold together.

Typological and comparative understanding of religious action depends on the theoretical

construction of the ideal type through thinking or empathic experiments. Objective
understanding of religious action, on the other hand, depends on the value-judgement free
analysis of the subjective meaning of social action from the viewpoint of ideas as well as
material and mental interests. To avoid the injunction of value-judgments, one has to
distinguish the empirical recognition of "what is" from the normative judgment of "what
should be." The validity of an ethical claim is not the matter of social analysis, but the
matter of conscience and belief. The criteria of value-judgment is imperative, and does
not depend on empirical reality. The understanding of "what is," on the other hand,
involves not just empirical facts of social action, but also the subjective meaning of the
social action. Social action is not mechanical reaction of the law of material interests, but
the dynamic of ideas and interests which give the actor the conscious or unconscious

1
Ninian Smart. "The Study and Classification of Religions," in Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed.

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Weber on Religion

meaning of life and the world. In order to understand sociological reality of religion,
Weber holds the importance of religious idea which cannot be reduced to the component
of material interests (Marx) or to the social nexus and function (Durkheim). Weber says:

Not ideas, but material and ideal [ideological] interests, directly govern men's conduct.
Yet very frequently the world images that have been created by ideas, like a switchman,
have determined the tracks along which action has been pushed by the dynamic of
interest.2

2
Weber, Max. Sociology of World Religions: Introduction (1920).

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Weber on Religion

Religion and Capitalism:

If Karl Marx provides us with an account in which religion serves merely as social opiate
and agent of social control, Max Weber offers us a different vision, one in which religion
can in some instances be an independent variable and, as such, a source of social change. 
The study of comparative religion forms a major part of Weber’s program, and one of his
books on the subject (The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism) is regularly
taught in sociology courses.  While this book should be considered in the broader context
of Weber’s comparative studies and agenda, it is easier to summarize it separately and
then go on to mention some key elements of Weber’s broader work in the sociology of
religion. 

Weber begins The Protestant Ethic by noting an apparent association between certain
religious affiliations (particularly Protestantism) and business success, and suggests that
this association might indicate a causal connection between the two.  He then goes on to
characterize the “spirit of capitalism” by quoting a number of passages from Benjamin
Franklin’s writing that he considers exemplary of this spirit in its purest, ideal-typical
form.  At the core of the spirit of capitalism is a work ethic in which any time spent not
actually making money is wasted time.  Franklin champions the pursuit of profit for its
own sake, and by the most systematic and rational means possible.  Weber identifies
Franklin’s approach, not as form of business practice, but as an ethos (or, as Weber
describes it, an ethic).  It is this ethic, claims Weber, that is specific to modern western
capitalism, and it is based on Luther’s idea of the calling or vocation. 

At this historical point in Weber’s story, most of the key precursors to modern capitalism
are in place.  Popularization of the idea of the calling has drawn religious life out of the
monastery and planted it in “the world.”  Business advances (in, for example,
bookkeeping) have laid the groundwork for the technical aspects of capitalism.  And, if
Franklin is to be believed, the right kind of work ethic is in place.  What remains to be
added, according to Weber, is the motivation for strenuous capitalist development that
involves reinvesting the fruits of one’s labor. 

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Weber on Religion

Weber finds this motivation in the Calvinist doctrine of predestination.  This doctrine
states that (a) the elect are saved and everyone else is damned, (b) God has selected the
chosen even before their birth and humanity has no way of knowing who will be saved,
and (c) salvation cannot be earned, for if it could be, humanity would have a kind of
power over God.  At the core of Weber’s argument is the sense of helplessness and
loneliness that he claims the Calvinist must have felt.  The Calvinist, thinks Weber,
would have found this worry psychologically unbearable, and would have needed to find
a way of knowing that he3 was saved.  Fortunately, it was possible to look for a sign of
being among the elect.  Such a sign might include worldly success, and worldly success,
of course, involved ascetic, rational regulation of one’s life conduct.  One could thus
prove oneself before God, not to earn salvation (which was impossible) but to assure
oneself that one already had it.  Weber ties this Calvinist strategy to the Lutheran
devotion to one’s life calling (which could take place in the business world) and claims
that this combination of worldliness and ascetic discipline was pivotal for the
development of modern capitalism.  Since the Calvinists were not allowed to spend their
wealth on profligate living, reinvestment made the most sense.  Over time, this led to
increasing accumulation of capital, minimization of consumption, and ultimately the
continuous economic growth and industrial energy of modern capitalism. 

At the heart of The Protestant Ethic, then, is a causal claim about the impact of beliefs on
practices, and the ultimate impact of both on institutions.  In this work, Weber provides
an explicit challenge to Marx in using religion as an independent variable, and
particularly as one that can have an impact on economic institutions. 

Weber’s work beyond The Protestant Ethic similarly focuses on the way that ideas act
back on interests and shape activities, especially economic activities.  For example,
Weber views salvation as a key idea that drives action, noting that his “concern is
essentially with the quest for salvation…insofar as it produced certain consequences for
practical behavior in the world,” particularly “a positive orientation to mundane affairs”
(1963: 149).  Weber posits four general approaches to salvation (1963: 166-170).  One
can either escape from the world or find means of adjusting to it; Weber terms the
3
Weber only appears to have been discussing men, thus my use of the term “he.”

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Weber on Religion

“escape” approach “other-worldly,” and adjustment as “inner-worldly.”  Weber then

turns his attention to whether one practices resignation (“mysticism”) or self-mastery
(“asceticism”) in regard to the world’s temptations.  Of the four possible approaches that
emerge from this double pairing, inner-worldly asceticism is of the greatest interest to
Weber because (as suggested by the above discussion of Protestant Ethic) it leads to the
development of modern capitalism.  It demands both hard work in the world and
abstemiousness.  Other-worldly mysticism, of which Buddhism is a good example,
requires indifference to the world, which, Weber argues, never leads to the kind of
activity that undergirds capitalism.  Inner-worldly mysticism (e.g., Taoism) accepts the
world, but focuses on contemplative practices rather than strenuous economic activity. 
Other-worldly asceticism, which is found in monastic Christianity, offers salvation
through the mastery of desires, but this takes place away from “the world,” rather than in
it.  The conquering of desire is important, but not in a way that impacts society more
broadly.

Weber’s interest in social change also leads him to be particularly interested in the issue
of religious leadership, since social change requires leaders for motivation and for the
direction of action.  Here, Weber focuses on the prophet as the quintessential religious
leader that drives change.  Weber identifies two kinds of prophets, the exemplary prophet
and the emissary prophet (Gerth and Mills 1946: 284-6; Weber 1963: 55).  The
exemplary prophet challenges the status quo by living an exemplary life, with an example
being the Buddha (and with Asian religions generally furnishing other examples).  The
prototypical emissary prophet is the kind found in the Hebrew Bible, who is sent by God
to bring a message that people need to live differently.  It is, of course, the emissary
prophet who calls for change – active ascetic change, according to Weber – and in so
doing ultimately leads to modern capitalism.

As may already be evident, Weber’s approach to religion and social change involves a
particular conception of the relationship between interests (material and ideal) and ideas;
some sociologists consider Weber’s understanding of this relationship to be one of his
most important contributions to the sociology of religion.  Weber provides a description
of this relationship, almost off-handedly, in a larger discussion of salvation and

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Weber on Religion

capitalism: “Not ideas, but material and ideal interests, directly govern [human] conduct. 
Yet very frequently the ‘world images’ that have been created by ‘ideas’ have, like
switchmen, determined the tracks along which action has been pushed by the dynamic of
interest” (1946: 280).  Sociologist Ann Swidler (in Weber 1963: x) notes the
sophisticated understanding of ideas and interests here presented by Weber: “ideas,
created to serve group interests, come to define the very world within which interests can
be formulated.”  We will have reason to come back to these topics later in the course.

Weber does not ignore religion’s role as a legitimating element in social inequality;
indeed, a good deal of his writing on religion in the Gerth and Mills anthology cited
above concerns exactly this topic.  Weber’s sociology of religion, nonetheless, is notable
for its claims that religion can be a source of social change, as opposed to either (a)
merely a reflection of material causes of change or (b) a source of (oppressive) stability.4

4
http://web.grinnell.edu/courses/soc/f01/soc295-02/marx_weber.html

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Weber on Religion

Weber on India:

The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism, also known as just The
Religion of India, is a book on the sociology of religion written by Maximilian Weber, a
German economist and sociologist of the early twentieth century. The original edition
was in German. An English translation was made in 1958 and several editions have been
released since then.

It was his third major work on the sociology of religion, after The Protestant Ethic and
the Spirit of Capitalism and The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism. In this
work he deals with the structure of Indian society, with the orthodox doctrines of
Hinduism and the heterodox doctrines of Buddhism, with the changes wrought by
popular religiosity and their influence on the secular ethic of Indian society.5

The Hindu social system:

The Indian social system was influenced by the concept of caste (varna). It directly linked
religious belief and the segregation of society into status groups. Weber goes on to
describe the caste system (the Brahmins - priests, the Kshatriyas - warriors, the Vaisyas -
merchants, the Sudras - laborers and the untouchables).

Weber pays special attention to Brahmins and considers why they occupied the highest
place in Indian society for many centuries. With regards to the concept of dharma he
concludes that the Indian ethical pluralism is very different both from the universal ethic
of Confucianism and Christianity. He notes that the caste system prevented the
development of urban status groups.

Hindu orthodoxy and Brahmin restoration:

After the structure of the society, Weber analysed the Hindu religious beliefs - ascetism
and the Hindu view of the world, the Brahman orthodox doctrines, the rise and fall of
Buddhism in India, the Hindu restoration and the evolution of guru.
5
Reinhard Bendix, Max Weber: an intellectual portrait, University of California Press, 1977, p.142

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Weber on Religion

Secular ethic and impact of Hindu beliefs on economy:

Weber discussed what influence Hinduism and Buddhism had on the mundane activities,
and how they impacted the economy. He noted the idea of unchanging world order
consisting of the eternal cycles of rebirth, and the deprecation of mundane world. By the
traditionalism of the caste system supported by the religion, the economic development is
slowed as, - according to Weber - the "spirit" of the caste system worked against the
development of capitalism.6

Asian belief systems:

Weber ended his research of society and religion in India by bringing in insights from his
previous work on China to discuss similarities of the Asian belief systems. He notes that
the beliefs saw the meaning of life as otherwoldy mystical experience. The social world
is fundamentally divided between the educated elite, following the guidance of a prophet
or wise man, and the uneducated masses whose believes are centered on magic. In Asia,
there was no Messianic prophecy to plan and meaning to the everyday life of educated
and uneducated alike. Weber juxtaposed such Messianic prophecies, notably from the
Near East region to those found on the Asiatic mainland, focusing more on exemplary
ways to live one's life. It was those differences that prevented the countries of the
Occident from following the paths of the earlier Chinese and Indian civilizations. His
next work, Ancient Judaism was an attempt to prove this theory.7

6
Reinhard Bendix, Max Weber: an intellectual portrait, University of California Press, 1977, p.196
7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Religion_of_India:_The_Sociology_of_Hinduism_and_Buddhism#cite_
note-rb142-0

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Weber on Religion

Conclusion:

Max Weber (1864 – 1920) was a left-wing liberal German political economist and
sociologist. He despised the nobility and the seeking of power for its own ends. He
studied capitalism in general and the part of religion in particular.

He believed that some religions enable the march of capitalism, whilst others, such as
Hinduism and Confucianism, do not. A key trigger in the Reformation was the removal
of simple guarantees of being saved through belief, which led people to seek other routes
to salvation.

Weber also coined the term 'Protestant work ethic' to describe a dedication to simplicity
and hard work that the Protestant branches of the Christian church espoused. The paradox
of the Protestant work ethic was that whilst hard work led to commercial success, it was a
sin (particularly in Calvinism) to spend the money on oneself or religious icons
(Protestant churches are very simple, unlike Catholic ones). The way out was investment,
which simply led to even more commercial success. Mass-production also supported
Protestant ideas of equality and countered individualism. Commercial success and
personal simplicity was seen as a particular demonstration of piety. If you can be rich yet
resist the easy temptation it brings, then surely you will get into heaven.

In this way, modern capitalism actually grew from religious seeking of wealth as a
symbol of work. Over time in Western society the temptations of spending money on
oneself increased and perhaps led to the decline in the religious element. Capitalism was
thus established as a 'religion' of its own.

Weber described the spirit of capitalism as the ideas and habits that support the rational
pursuit of economic gain. Without the restraints of religion, greed and laziness lead to
making the maximum amount of money for the minimum effort.

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Weber on Religion

On World Religion:

Durkheim based his arguments on a very small range of examples even though he
claimed that his ideas apply to religion in general.Max Weber by contrast embarked on a
massive study of religions world wide. Weber made detailed studies of Hinduism,
Buddhism, Taoism and ancient Judaism and in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism wrote extensively about the impact of Christianity on the history of the west.
Weber concentrated on a connection between religion and social change something to
which Durkheim gave little attention. Unlike Marx Weber argues that religion is not
necessarily a conservative force on the contrary religiously inspired movements have
produced dramatic social transformation. Protestantism particularly Puritanism was the
source of capitalist outlook found in the modern west.

The early entrepreneurs were mostly Calvinists. Their drive to succeed which helped
initiate western economic development was originally prompted by a desire to serve God.
Material success was for them a sign of divine favour. Analyzing the eastern religions
Weber concludes that they provided inseparable barriers to the development of industrial
capitalism of the kind that took place in the west. For example Hinduism is what Weber
calls an ‘other-worldly’ religion that is its highest value stress escape from the toils of the
material world to a higher plane of spiritual existence.8

8
http://www.sociologyguide.com/religion/max-weber-and-world-religion.php

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Weber on Religion

Bibliography:

Books and Articles:

 Gerth, Hans, and C. Wright Mills, eds.  1946.  From Max Weber.  New York:
Oxford University Press.
 Hamilton, Malcolm.  1995.  Sociology of Religion.  New York: Routledge.
 Smith, Christian.  1996.  Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in Social
Movement Activism.  New York: Routledge.
 Tucker, Robert C., ed.  1978.  The Marx-Engels Reader.  Second ed.  New York:
Norton.
 Weber, Max.  1961.  General Economic History.  New York: Knight.
 Weber, Max.  1963.  The Sociology of Religion.   Boston: Beacon Press.

Online Resources:

 http://www.ne.jp/asahi/moriyuki/abukuma/outline/weber_appr.html
 http://changingminds.org/disciplines/sociology/theorists/weber.htm#rel
 http://web.grinnell.edu/courses/soc/f01/soc295-02/marx_weber.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Religion_of_India:_The_Sociology_of_Hinduis
m_and_Buddhism#cite_note-rb142-0
 http://www.sociologyguide.com/religion/max-weber-and-world-religion.php

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