This seminar takes up one of the most influential arguments in the social sciences: Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. More than a century after its publication, Weber’s essay continues to shape how economists, historians, and sociologists think about the relationship between religion, culture, and economic life. Over time, the ‘Weber thesis’ has evolved into a research program with a life of its own—one that has developed in productive directions that Weber himself may not have anticipated.
We begin by examining this evolution: how Weber’s original argument has been received, adapted, and transformed by subsequent scholars. Economists, in particular, have taken up the challenge of subjecting Weber’s claims to empirical scrutiny—work that invites both appreciation and critical engagement. Participants will then turn to the text itself, encountering Weber’s careful distinctions between Lutheranism and Calvinism, between the ‘spirit’ of capitalism and capitalism as an economic system, and between cultural explanation and monocausal determinism. We will also explore the institutional dimensions of Weber’s broader project: his analyses of medieval commerce, legal rationalization, and the occidental city.
The seminar concludes by engaging contemporary scholarship—both the econometricians who have tested versions of the thesis and the institutional economists who offer alternative accounts of religion’s role in economic development. Our aim is not to adjudicate between Weber and his interpreters, but to understand both: what Weber was arguing in his own terms, how his ideas have been developed and transformed, and what this ongoing conversation reveals about the possibilities and limits of interdisciplinary exchange. Sessions will be facilitated by Dr. Fernando Arteaga, Dr. Enrique Pallares, and Dr. Angel Alvarado.
Dates: Fridays, 3:00-4:00pm
Feb. 6: The Puzzle and Its Ghosts
Feb. 13: Weber: The Spirit
Feb. 20: Weber: Calvinist Asceticism
Feb. 27: The Institutional Weber
March 20: Critics: Empirical Tests
March 27: Critics: Institutional Alternatives
Location: Fox-Fels Hall 2nd Floor Conference Room (3814 Walnut St)
Applications for Spring 2026 Deadline: Friday, January 23rd, 2026
Questions? Please contact Mary Lee (mlee@collegiuminstitute.org).
This program is made possible by the Ambassador’s Fund for Catholic Education.