BELIEF AND RITUAL: THE PROTESTANT ETHIC, CAPITALISM, AND THE NATION

1517THE PROTESTANT REFORMATIONA movement in Europe that began with Martin Luthers opposition to the corruption of Catholicism.Divided Christianity between Catholicism and a number of Protestant denominations.Contributed to a sociocultural milieu in Europe that fostered science, technology, modern philosophy, and capitalism.

Considered to be the culmination of the Protestant Reformation.Established national boundaries in Europe. Ended the political dominance of the Holy Roman Empire. Instigated the transformation in the political organization of European powers from feudal states to nation states.1648THE WESTPHALIA PEACE ACCORD

CAPITALISMAn economic system in which the means of production--land and capital goods--are privately owned, and the labor of workers becomes the property of owners.Capital, generated for most part by the labor of workers, is monopolized by owners and invested for individual profit.Commodities and services are produced for the sole purpose of profit in the marketplace.Capitalism collapses if it does not continually expand.Capitalism only functions through inequality.

MARX: The history of the world is a history of conflict between CLASSES: Those who have access to resources and establish power over their production and distribution.Those who do not have access to resources.Societies are held together by coercive power, and change due to escalating conflicts between the classes.The capitalist system is based in class inequity, and generates disenfranchisement and alienation.WEBER: Systems of oppression are able to operate because they are self legitimizing. In addition to socioeconomic class, status and power--power for powers sake-- contributes to social inequity.MACRO PERSPECTIVES

CONFLICT THEORY

WEBER IS CRITICAL OF MARXS ECONOMICDETERMINISMAND ARGUES RELIGION GENERATEDTHE CAPITALIST ECONOMIC SYSTEM.

He asked: Why was capitalism created and developed in Western Europe rather than somewhere else?Because historical conditions caused the emergence of religious values that created an ethos conducive to capitalism.

CALVINISMDURING THE 1500s JOHN CALVIN PARTICIPATED IN AND IMPACTED THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION, AND THE MANY BRANCHES OF CALVINISM EMERGED.

PREDESTINATION: God has predetermined who will go to heaven, all others will not.TULIP -- The five points of Calvinism:Total depravity: All are born into sin.Unconditional election: God saves through total mercy.Limited atonement: Christ atoned only for the elected.Irresistible grace: The elected cannot resist Gods grace.Perseverance of the saints: The elected will never fall. THE CALLING: Anxious people look for signs of salvation.Hard work is a high moral obligation to fulfill ones duty in worldly affairs.Worldly success is a sign of Gods favor.

CALVINIST DOCTRINE

Be industrious and frugal, and you will be rich.Hope of gain lessens pain.Beware of little expenses, a small leak will sink a great ship.Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure.Nothing so likely to make a mans fortune as virtue.BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ON SAVINGS AND THRIFT

Frugal and thrifty economic behavior is virtuous and leads to wealth.Wealth designates virtue.Weber asserts: The ETHOS of capitalism predates the emergence of capitalism in the late 18th century.

THE ETHOS OF CAPITALISM

PREDESTINATION AS THE VITAL SPARK OF CAPITALISMAccumulation becomes a moral imperative.

The pursuit of profit becomes endowed with sacred character.

WEBERS IRON CAGEEconomic activity becomes separate from the household.Cities become separate from the country.People are divided by class statuses.Nation states become more homogenous, geographically bounded, autonomous, and self-determining.

A SELF-PERPETUATING ANDSELF-LEGITIMIZING SYSTEMRATIONALIZATION: Positivistic organization, including military might, to maintain social order.Capitalism is fortified through rationalization.Religious beliefs become unnecessary.Asceticism, thrift, and capital accumulation become secular virtues.WEBERS IRONY: The Puritan wanted to work as a calling; we are forced to do so.

THE MODERN NATION AND THE IDEOLOGY OF NATIONALISMNations are constructed through social and cultural engineering. NATIONALISM: An ideology that generates homogeneity, compliance, and loyalty.People are convinced or coerced into sharing a common religion, language, ethnic membership, and history.Constructions of the different, inferior, evil, etc., OTHER remain integral to the identity formations of nationalisms.

The monopoly on legitimized violence is essential to constructing and maintaining the nation.

Nations can and do eliminate or force into submission, those who refuse to conform, or who demand recognition as distinct groups.

Nations can and do wage war on other nations for religious, social, cultural, political, and economic reasons.

Like religions, modern nationalisms are systems of belief that share characteristics with anthropological perspectives on religion.SACRED NARRATIVESSYMBOLSADDRESSING THE SUPERNATURALSPIRITS AND SACRED POWERSRITUALS

NATIONALISM AND RELIGION

NARRATIVESI CANNOT TELL A LIE.HhmmmEVET! Babadevlet ve anavatan!REMEMBER THE ALAMO!

SYMBOLS

ADDRESSING THE SUPERNATURAL

RITUALS US MILITARY BOOT CAMP: A NATIONALISTIC RITE OF PASSAGE

RITES OF PASSAGE: Public events that mark the transition of an individual or group from one social status to another.Rites of Passage involve three phases:SEPARATIONThe person or group is detached from a former status.THE LIMINAL STAGEA state of limbo between the former status and the new status to come.REINCORPORATIONThe passage into the new status is symbolically completed. New rights and obligations accompany the new status.

BETWIXT AND BETWEEN.Symbols of the liminal stage often focus on nothingness, death, and ambiguity.The initiates are in a temporary state of solidarity called: COMMUNITAS.

The LIMINAL Stage

ANTI STRUCTURE: A temporary dissolution of the established order that occurs during the liminal stage.Behaviors that violate social norms are permitted.Establishes where normal structural boundaries are and reinforces social norms.

PRIVATE JOKERA TRICKSTER

FULL METAL JACKET PART ONE

STUDY GUIDE FOR PART ONE OF FULL METAL JACKETWhat characteristics of religion do you see in boot camp as portrayed in the film?Weber asserts that the Protestant ethic is the cultural basis for capitalism and, in part, the ideology of nationalism. These systems become rationalized, self-legitimizing, and eventually secular. What evidence of this theoretical logic do you see in the film?What characteristics of boot camp correspond with Victor Turners explication of the liminal state? What social status are the initiates being prepared for? When reintegrated, how will they fortify the social order of the nation state?In the context of communitas, what role does the drill sergeant play?What role does Private Joker play?What role does Private Pyle play?