... wasting, laziness, idle gossip and more sleep than necessary to name a few. It is these features of the Calvinistic religion that Weber believes contributed to the development of capitalism. He concluded he had successfully demonstrated that religious beliefs could cause social change. However, Marxist writers have dismissed his claims, stating that Calvinism developed in cities where industrialisation had already been well-established, and Protestantism becomes the ideology of capitalists to legitimate their position. Marxists believe that any change is brought about through the infrastructure, or economic base of society, which they would argue is capitalism. Change in the infrastructure has a knock-on effect and alters the superstructure (which would include religion). From this view, it is impossible to argue that religion can promote social change. Marx believes that religion is a conservative force. This can mean one of two things - maintaining the status quo, or reverting to traditional values. He states ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now