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BELIEF AND RITUAL: THE PROTESTANT ETHIC, CAPITALISM, AND THE NATION Slide 2 1517 THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION A 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. Slide 3 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. 1648 THE WESTPHALIA PEACE ACCORD Slide 4 CAPITALISM An 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. Slide 5 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 Slide 6 WEBER IS CRITICAL OF MARXS ECONOMIC DETERMINISM AND ARGUES RELIGION GENERATED THE CAPITALIST ECONOMIC SYSTEM. Slide 7 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. Slide 8 CALVINISM DURING THE 1500s JOHN CALVIN PARTICIPATED IN AND IMPACTED THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION, AND THE MANY BRANCHES OF CALVINISM EMERGED. Slide 9 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 Slide 10 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 Slide 11 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 Slide 12 PREDESTINATION AS THE VITAL SPARK OF CAPITALISM Accumulation becomes a moral imperative. The pursuit of profit becomes endowed with sacred character. Slide 13 WEBERS IRON CAGE Economic 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. Slide 14 A SELF-PERPETUATING AND SELF-LEGITIMIZING SYSTEM RATIONALIZATION: 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. Slide 15 THE MODERN NATION AND THE IDEOLOGY OF NATIONALISM Nations 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. Slide 16 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. Slide 17 Like religions, modern nationalisms are systems of belief that share characteristics with anthropological perspectives on religion. SACRED NARRATIVES SYMBOLS ADDRESSING THE SUPERNATURAL SPIRITS AND SACRED POWERS RITUALS NATIONALISM AND RELIGION Slide 18 NARRATIVES I CANNOT TELL A LIE. HhmmmEVET! Babadevlet ve anavatan! REMEMBER THE ALAMO! Slide 19 SYMBOLS Slide 20 ADDRESSING THE SUPERNATURAL Slide 21 Slide 22 RITUALS US MILITARY BOOT CAMP: A NATIONALISTIC RITE OF PASSAGE Slide 23 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: SEPARATION The person or group is detached from a former status. THE LIMINAL STAGE A state of limbo between the former status and the new status to come. REINCORPORATION The passage into the new status is symbolically completed. New rights and obligations accompany the new status. Slide 24 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 Slide 25 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. Slide 26 Slide 27 PRIVATE JOKER A TRICKSTER Slide 28 FULL METAL JACKET PART ONE Slide 29 STUDY GUIDE FOR PART ONE OF FULL METAL JACKET What 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?