Protestant culture refers to the cultural practices that have developed within Protestantism. Although the founding Protestant Reformation was a religious movement, it also had a strong impact on all other aspects of life: marriage and family, education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy, and the arts.Karl Heussi, Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte, 11. Auflage (1956), Tübingen (Germany), pp. 317–319, 325–326The Protestant Heritage, Britannica
Protestantism has promoted economic growth and entrepreneurship, especially in the period after the Scientific and the Industrial Revolution. Scholars have identified a positive correlation between the rise of Protestantism and human capital formation, work ethic, economic development, the rise of early experimental science, Google Print, pp. 320–321 Google Print, p.125 and the development of the state system.
The role of families, women, and sexual minorities
All Protestant churches allow their clergy to marry, in contrast to the Catholic Church. This meant that the families of many members of the Protestant clergy were able to contribute to the development of intellectual elites in their countries from about 1525, when the theologian Martin Luther was married.Karl Heussi, Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte, p. 319
Historically, the role of women in church life, the Protestant clergy, and as theologians remained limited. The role of women expanded over time and was closely associated with the movements for universal education and women's suffrage. Political and social movements for suffrage (voting rights) and sobriety (see temperance movement and Prohibition) in the English-speaking world of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were closely associated with Protestant Christian women's organizations.
While particular Protestant churches such as the Methodists involved women as clergy or assistants since the late 1700s, the ordination of women as clergy dates from the 1940s in the Lutheran churches, and from the 1970s in the Anglican Communion. Since about 1990, many more women have assumed senior leadership roles (e.g. as bishops) in several Protestant churches, including the Anglican Communion and the Church of England.
Despite increasing acceptance for female pastors, in 2023, the Southern Baptist Convention—the U.S.'s largest Protestant denomination—voted by an overwhelming majority to restrict the role to men. In doing so, the Convention ejected five congregations with female pastors. To add this rule to the church's constitution, a second vote had to be held in 2024 and reach a two-thirds majority. The measure narrowly failed with 61% voting in favor. This prevented the preliminary ban from being added to the denomination's constitution, but did not change its doctrinal position. Some members felt it was not necessary to add to the constitution, since the denomination has adopted the practice of expelling offending churches. The Convention voted again by a 92% majority to expel a church which had allowed a female pastor to serve women and children congregants.
Since the 1990s Protestant churches have encountered controversy regarding the Church's response to persons of minority sexual orientations. The sometimes divisive nature of these discussions was exemplified by the formation of dissenting groups within the Anglican Communion that rejected reforms that were intended to make the Church more inclusive. In the 21st century, debates over same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy have led to splits within the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, the American Baptist Church, and the Southern Baptist Convention. While in some cases individual congregations have left (or been ejected from) their denomination, in others, separate denominations have been formed in opposition to church policy.
Education
Since Reformers wanted all members of the church to be able to read and study the Bible and catechisms, support for education at all levels increased over time in Europe, the Americas, and in other parts of the world that were influenced by contact with European educators and missionaries. Compulsory education for both boys and girls was introduced. For example, the Puritans who established Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628 founded Harvard College only eight years later. About a dozen other American colleges followed in the 18th century, including Yale University (1701). Pennsylvania also became a centre of learning.Clifton E. Olmstead (1960), History of Religion in the United States, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, pp. 69–80, 88–89, 114–117, 186–188M. Schmidt, Kongregationalismus, in Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 3. Auflage, Band III (1959), Tübingen (Germany), col. 1770 By initiating translations of the Bible into various national languages, Protestantism supported the development of national literatures.
Some of the first colleges and universities in America, including Harvard, Yale,, Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, Encyclopædia Britannica Princeton, The original Trustees of Princeton University "were acting in behalf of the evangelical or New Light wing of the Presbyterian Church, but the College had no legal or constitutional identification with that denomination. Its doors were to be open to all students, 'any different sentiments in religion notwithstanding.'" Columbia, Dartmouth, Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury,W.L. Kingsley et al., "The College and the Church," New Englander and Yale Review 11 (Feb 1858): 600. accessed 2010-6-16 Note: Middlebury is considered the first "operating" college in Vermont as it was the first to hold classes in Nov 1800. It issued the first Vermont degree in 1802; UVM followed in 1804. and Amherst, all were founded by mainline Protestant denominations.
Thought and work ethic
The Protestant concept of God and man allows believers to use all their God-given faculties, including the power of reason. That means that Protestant believers are encouraged to explore God's creation and, according to Genesis 2:15, make use of it in a responsible and sustainable way. Thus a cultural climate was created that greatly enhanced the development of the humanities and the sciences.Gerhard Lenski (1963), The Religious Factor: A Sociological Study of Religion's Impact on Politics, Economics, and Family Life, Revised Edition, A Doubleday Anchor Book, Garden City, New York, pp. 348–351 Another consequence of the Protestant understanding of man is that the believers, in gratitude for their election and redemption in Christ, are to follow God's commandments. Industry, frugality, calling, discipline, and a strong sense of responsibility are at the heart of their moral code.Cf. Robert Middlekauff (2005), The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789, Revised and Expanded Edition, Oxford University Press, , p. 52Jan Weerda, Soziallehre des Calvinismus, in Evangelisches Soziallexikon, 3. Auflage (1958), Stuttgart (Germany), col. 934 In particular, John Calvin rejected luxury. Therefore, craftsmen, industrialists, and other businessmen were able to reinvest the greater part of their profits in the most efficient machinery and the most modern production methods that were based on progress in the sciences and technology. As a result, productivity grew, which led to increased profits and enabled employers to pay higher wages. In this way, the economy, the sciences, and technology reinforced each other. The chance to participate in the economic success of technological inventions was a strong incentive to both inventors and investors.Eduard Heimann, Kapitalismus, in Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 3. Auflage, Band III (1959), Tübingen (Germany), col. 1136–1141Hans Fritz Schwenkhagen, Technik, in Evangelisches Soziallexikon, 3. Auflage, col. 1029–1033Georg Süßmann, Naturwissenschaft und Christentum, in Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 3. Auflage, Band IV, col. 1377–1382C. Graf von Klinckowstroem, Technik. Geschichtlich, in Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 3. Auflage, Band VI, col. 664–667 The Protestant work ethic was an important force behind the unplanned and uncoordinated mass action that influenced the development of capitalism and the Industrial Revolution. This idea is also known as the "Protestant ethic thesis."
Some mainline Protestant denominations such as Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Congregationalists tend to be considerably wealthier and better educated than most other Christian denominations in America,Irving Lewis Allen, "WASP—From Sociological Concept to Epithet," Ethnicity, 1975 154+ having a higher proportion of graduate and post-graduate degrees per capita. Protestants are disproportionately represented in the upper reaches of American business, law and politics, especially the Republican Party. Large numbers of the most wealthy and affluent American families such as the Vanderbilts and Astors, Rockefellers,Ron Chernow, Titan (New York: Random, 1998) 50. Du Ponts, Roosevelts, Forbes, Whitneys, Mellons, Morgans and Harrimans are Mainline Protestant families.
According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, Episcopalians ranked as the third most financially successful religious group in the United States, with 35% of Episcopalians living in households with incomes of at least $100,000, while and Presbyterians ranked as the fourth most financially successful religious group in the United States, with 32% of Presbyterians living in households with incomes of at least $100,000. According to the same study there is correlation between education and income, about 59% of American Anglican have a graduate and post-graduate degree, followed by Episcopalians (56%) and Presbyterians (47%).
Science
Protestantism had an important influence on science. According to the Merton Thesis, there was a positive correlation between the rise of Puritanism and Protestant Pietism on the one hand and early experimental science on the other.Sztompka, Piotr (2003), Robert King Merton, in Ritzer, George, The Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists, Malden, Massachusetts Oxford: Blackwell, p. 13, The Merton Thesis has two separate parts: Firstly, it presents a theory that science changes due to an accumulation of observations and improvement in experimental techniques and methodology; secondly, it puts forward the argument that the popularity of science in 17th-century England and the religious demography of the Royal Society (English scientists of that time were predominantly Puritans or other Protestants) can be explained by a correlation between Protestantism and the scientific values.Gregory, Andrew (1998), Handout for course 'The Scientific Revolution' at The Scientific Revolution In his theory, Robert K. Merton posited that English Puritanism and German Pietism were responsible for the development of the Scientific Revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries. Merton explained that the connection between religious affiliation and interest in science was the result of a significant synergy between the ascetic Protestant values and those of modern science.Becker, George (1992), The Merton Thesis: Oetinger and German Pietism, a Significant Negative Case, Sociological Forum (Springer) 7 (4), pp. 642–660 Protestant values encouraged scientific research by allowing science to study God's influence on the world and thus providing a religious justification for scientific research.