Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a study of the relationship between the ethics of ascetic Protestantism and the emergence of the spirit of modern capitalism. An ascetic Protestant is one who practices self-denial and self-discipline. Weber argues that the religious ideas of groups such as the Calvinists played a role in creating the capitalistic spirit. Calvinists were people who followed the doctrines of John Calvin. It basically was a religion that believed in predestination and that God had infinite power.
             Weber first observes a link between being Protestant and being involved in business, and declares his intent to explore religion as a potential cause of the modern economic conditions. He argues that the modern spirit of capitalism sees profit as an end in itself, and pursuing profit as virtuous. His goal is to understand the source of this spirit. He turns to Protestantism for a potential explanation. Protestantism offers a concept of the worldly calling, and gives worldly activity a religious character. Since religion has always had a major impact upon conduct, he attributes the particular development to the influence of certain religious ideas on the development of the economic system that, in the case of the spirit of modern economic life, is the rational ethics of ascetic Protestantism.
             While this is still important, it alone cannot explain the need to pursue profit. One branch of Protestantism, which is Calvinism, does provide this explanation. Calvinists believe in predestination. As Calvinism developed, a deep psychological need for clues about whether one was actually saved arose, and Calvinists looked to their success in worldly activity for those clues. They came to value profit and material success as signs of God's favor because of this. Other religious groups, such as the Pietists, Methodists, and the Baptist denominations had similar attitudes to a lesser degree. He often doe
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