Spirit and economy: Pentecostalism and the afterlives of Max Weber

Abstract

This thesis investigates the historical intersections between Pentecostalism and Weberian sociology, beginning with the simultaneous publication of Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic and the emergence of Pentecostal spirituality at the Azusa Street Revival, and culminating in an analysis of recent claims that Pentecostals possess an equivalent to what Max Weber called "an ethic of inner-worldly asceticism", and consequently Pentecostalism may be a positive force for economic growth in developing countries.