Weber’s thesis on protestant ethic and the rise of spirit of capitalism has been criticized on various accounts. Famous English historian RH Tawney has pointed out that the empirical evidence on which Weber’s interpretation on Protestantism was based was too narrow. According to him, England was the first country to develop capitalism. However, the English Purtane did not believe in the doctrine of predestination.
Secondly there were aspects of traditional catholic teaching, which were equally compatible with capitalism. Yet capitalism was extremely slow in some catholic dominated areas. Weber seems to have ignored crucial developments in Catholicism, which occurred after reformation and which modernized Catholicism form with it.
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Debates may arise on why Calvinism has been considered as an ethic for the ‘spirit of capitalism’ and not other sects, but in that case it is important to understand the context in which different sects may have played a major role, but it is the ‘rational’ ethic that made Calvinist sect of Protestants, the cause for Weber. On the other hand, even in case of Asiatic religion, Max Weber might have misinterpreted or there may be a lack of materials on the East, so despite criticisms, Max Weber’s theory remains quite vocal as he added a new significance to the discipline of sociology through methodological individualism, focusing on the individuals to understand the motive behind their action and that too formed their rational …show more content…
The main religions of India include Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, and Jainism. Compared to the other main religions of India, Hinduism provides little encouragement to change one’s situation in terms of material wellbeing. According to Hinduism, the purpose of life is to attain liberation and freedom from re-birth and the chain of cause and effect, which means living to understand reality and not for the pursuit of material things. It is also important to note that Buddhism and Sikhism have historical links to Hinduism, and therefore have similar belief systems
Along with the occupational sub divisions brought about by caste system comes the concept of the Varnas which bring us to the specific case of the Baniyas. This becomes a study in the relation between close knit social groups guided by the realms of religion and kinship with economic ethic like the one exhibited by