ABOUT THIS BOOK

In The Protestant Ethic Revisited, pioneering sociologist Philip Gorski revisits the question raised by Max Weber in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism about how the Christian West was reshaped by world-changing energies of the Calvinist movement. Gorski not only considers the perennial debate about religion and capitalism, but he also devotes particular attention to the influence of Calvinism on the political development of the West.

The Protestant Ethic Revisited is a masterful new collection of Gorski's essays on religion and comparative historical sociology. Reflecting the aim of much of Gorski's work, this anthology shows how nationalism, secularism, politics, and religion in public life are either older—or less stable—than previously thought.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Philip S. Gorski is Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies and Codirector of the Center for Comparative Research at Yale University. He is the author of The Disciplinary Revolution: Calvinism and the Rise of the State in Early Modern Europe.

REVIEWS

"Gorski’s arguments are measured and persuasive, both historically and theoretically, and his chapters are judicious in their claims. The Protestant Ethic Revisited is a great book."
—Theodore Vial, Associate Professor of Theology at the Iliff School of Theology

"An excellent set of essays, among which some are veritable classics. Gorski has established himself as one of the leading sociologists of his generation, and his essays in the sociology of religion have contributed greatly to his high international reputation. He has developed a wide-ranging comparative approach to religious sociology, not to mention some much-needed analytic sophistication, and has helped to reintegrate the area with already vibrant subfields such as historical and comparative sociology, political sociology, and sociological theory. The essays in The Protestant Ethic Revisited are important milestones in the recent transformation of the field. Gorski's work is no flash in the pan. It is enduringly valuable scholarship."
—Mustafa Emirbayer,Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Beyond the Tilly Thesis: How States Did Not Make War and War Did Not Make States

Part I: Religion and Politics in Early Modern Europe
1. The Protestant Ethic Revisited: Disciplinary Revolution and State Formation in Holland and Prussia
2. Calvinism and Revolution: The Walzer Thesis Reconsidered
3. The Mosaic Moment: An Early Modernist Critique of Modernist Theories of Nationalism
4. The Making of Prussian Absolutism: Confessional Conflict and State Autonomy under the Great Elector, 1640–1688
5. The Little Divergence: The Protestant Reformation and Economic Hegemony in Early Modern Europe

Part II: The Secularization Debate
6. Historicizing the Secularization Debate: Church, State, and Society in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe, circa 1300 to 1700
7. After Secularization? by Philip S. Gorski and Ates Altinordu

Conclusion: The Protestant Ethic and the Secular Modern
Index

REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE

If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you with an electronic file for alternative access.

Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.

It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.