The Protestant Work Ethic

I got a bit of a history lesson from a conversation with a man named Rudolfo, an atheist and retired social studies professor from Mexico. He views the Protestant work ethic of Americans and its close association with capitalism as a better path toward prosperity than the traditional economics of Mexico, which he believes were stifled by the politics and teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

Rudolfo talked about Benito Juarez, former President of Mexico, a liberal reformer who viewed the Catholic Church as a major obstacle to bringing prosperity to the people of Mexico. Juarez worked to break up the economic monopoly held by the Roman Catholic Church and other rich landowners in order to build a vibrant middle class, and he viewed Catholic teachings as stifling to people’s motivation to work hard and to take risks as entrepreneurs.

I had initiated this conversation with Rudolfo in order to create an opportunity to share the Gospel, not to discuss politics or economics, but in the case of the “Protestant work ethic” I believe there is a close connection to the Gospel. Rudolfo talked about how, even as an atheist, he is still a baptized member of the Catholic Church and how he felt it would be easy for people to lose their motivation to work hard in this life as long as they faithfully raise a family, support the church, and look forward to prosperity guaranteed in the next life rather than in this one.

On the other hand, Rudolfo believes North American Protestants are motivated by a need to work for a salvation that is not guaranteed by church membership, and he believes this has been the motivation for a work ethic that has brought great prosperity to Americans and built a strong middle class. He was pretty outspoken in our conversation, but I did my best to explain a more biblical view for what has come to be called the Protestant work ethic.

While it is true that salvation is not guaranteed by membership in a church, it is NOT true that salvation can be earned by good works or hard work. Martin Luther, who began the Protestant Reformation, emphasized the biblical truth that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph.2:8-9)

So if salvation is given by God as a free gift, why the Protestant emphasis on hard work? And this is not necessarily the religious work needed to build up the church, but also includes secular occupations that result in building up one’s family, community and society. Why would Protestants become known for such values as diligence, discipline, and frugality?

Luther also emphasized the dignity of work – that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph.2:10) We were created for work, and can find great fulfillment and dignity in our efforts. Originally, God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden “to work it and take care of it.” It was only after our fall into sin that work became burdensome and often treated with scorn and contempt. But in Christ, not only church workers but workers in all sorts of moral and beneficial jobs can have a noble vocation, using our God-given abilities to fulfill our God-given roles in life. In this way, we don’t work to BE saved, but rather we work hard in noble vocations because we ARE saved.

However, while I believe this idea of the Protestant work ethic started with these simple beginnings, I think it went on to take on much cultural baggage. As a sign of salvation, hard work and discipline came to be viewed as a way to virtue signal to others that one is blessed by God, much in the same way that great wealth was in biblical times and still is. It became closely connected with corporate capitalism, and as people became more removed from the consequences of their hard work the lines between moral and immoral occupations became blurred. Many southern white protestants, not wanting to be associated with slave labor, lost sight of the dignity of work and fell into poverty themselves and created a permanent underclass. And now, the phrase is often seen as a racist reference to white supremacy, as if whites are the only people who work hard in noble vocations.

I can only share what I know to be true. I remember working hard in wrestling practice in high school, and thinking “I’m sure glad I have a coach, because I could never make myself work this hard on my own.” I knew I would only do the minimal amount it took to keep the coaches from kicking my butt, and I thought that as an adult I would probably need the same kind of motivation.

But when I became a Christian, my thinking changed. Instead of asking what I HAD to do to get by, I asked what do I GET to do to please my Heavenly Father? I prayed “Lord, you gave your life for me. Now I want to give my life for You”. And that, to me, is the simple essence of the Protestant work ethic.