Personal and Social Components of the Protestant Ethic

Abstract

Summary In an attempt to assess social group correlates of scores on the Mirels-Garrett Protestant Ethic scale, 219 American male and female students were administered the scale, together with items dealing with religious group affiliation, ethnic self-identification, political self-identification, socioeconomic status, and religious beliefs. Results showed that for the American students, Protestant Ethic scores were related significantly to religious self-identification, ethnic background, political self-identification, and religious beliefs. They were not related to socioeconomic status. Results are interpreted as indicating that for the American student sample Protestant Ethic scores are not a “personality variable” but reflect social and cultural background elements.