The Importance of Protestantism in Max Weber's Theory of Secularisation

Abstract

AbstractIn this article, I review my recent bookProtestant Modernity. Weber, Secularisation and Protestantism,which reconstructs Weber's theory of secularisation and argues that this is formulated within a liberal Protestant framework. I argue that this theory is a part of his Protestant account of modernity. I also sketch some of the major issues involved in developing a Catholic account of modernity and provide some worked through examples of the sociological implications of this change of confessional presuppositions.