Those lucky enough to be living in countries with high employment might want to credit their governments for the economic prosperity they enjoy. But new research indicates the credit, at least in some cases, belongs elsewhere - with religion.

A new study shows that Protestant countries have higher employment rates than non-Protestant countries. And this is because of the Protestant work ethic, which makes subjects work hard, even on occasion where they do not want to.

Researchers at Bath university found that the UK, the US and Nordic countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Norway wereamong those with employment rates as much as six per cent higher than countries where other religions are practiced by the largest proportion of the population.

According to their study of 80 countries, published in the American Journal of Economics and Sociology, female employment rates are also about 11 per cent higher in Protestant countries.

Dr Horst Feldmann, of Bath university, said the research took into account factors such as labour market regulations, business regulations and the tax burden. He said that the most likely reason for the impact of Protestantism on employment was the legacy of the commitment to work cultivated through the early Protestant church. “Religion does not necessarily have a direct impact upon most people’s behaviour today,” said Dr Feldmann, a lecturer in the University’s Department of Economics and International Development.

“Rather, the impact of religion may be indirect, for example, in helping shape the national culture of a given society.” He continued: “In its early days, Protestantism promoted the virtue of hard and diligent work amongst its adherents, who judged one another by conformity to this standard. Originally, an intense devotion to one’s work was meant to assure oneself that one was predestined for salvation. Although the belief in predestination did not last more than a generation or two after the Reformation, the effect on work ethics continued. “This was particularly conducive to the rise of modern capitalism. It stimulated entrepreneurial spirits and helped to assimilate workers into the factory system. Most protestants today are likely to work not in order to attain certainty of salvation but because their parents taught them the virtue of work. The Protestant virtue of hard and diligent work has become part of a national culture of the relevant countries.”

He said school and media organisations helped to transmit the norms of the Protestant work ethic to a country’s populace. “While the majority of individuals may have little or no contact with the church today, the impact of living in a society that was historically shaped by once powerful Protestant institutions persists today. This shapes everyone, Protestants as well as others, to fit into a given national culture that includes the value of hard and diligent work. Conversely, countries dominated by other religions, such as Catholicism, Islam and Buddhism, are likely to have developed a national culture that does not put a high value on hard and diligent work and often is hostile toward paid employment of women.” His ideas were first put forward by the sociologist Max Weber a century ago, to explain the role Protestantism played in the rise of modern capitalism.

The Islamic work ethic was defended by Ihtisham Hibatullah, of the British Muslim Initiative. He said that it was not possible to make an accurate comparison with Islamic countries because too many of this countries were dictatorships or monarchies, where the original values of Islam had been suppressed. He cited the economic miracle of modern Turkey, a secular state where Islam is dominant among the population, as proof of what could be achieved without the suppression of true Islamic values.

Mr Hibatullah said: “What we see in the Arab world is not Islam but something contrary to Islam. You cannot get a work ethic emerging in these situations. It is chaotic. The economic revivals of countries such as Turkey and Malaysia are a contrast. They have a religious background to them.”

A spokesperson for the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales disputed a causal relationship between the work ethic and religious affiliation. “What is not debatable is that the Catholic Church has a powerfully positive vision of the role of work and its place in a fulfilled human life.” He quoted Pope Benedict XVI, who said last year that while work is “an important aspect of human existence”, people must not let their jobs take over their lives. Work enables people to realise their potential and contribute to the good of society as long as their work is “undertaken in full respect for human dignity and the common good.”

Irene Lancaster, a leading Jewish commentator who recently made aliyah from Manchester to Israel, said: “This ignores both Israel and India. This is a bit surprising, because the Protestant work ethic is supposed to have derived from the Protestant attitude to the so-called ’Old Testament’, taken literally and strictly adhered to. India is a predominantly Hindu country, with a huge and very important population.”

Ramesh Kallidai of the Hindu Forum of Britain said: “I believe that the Protestant religion must have had some positive impact through its emphasis on the work culture and the position of women in employment. But it is a bit too simplistic to think that these countries have a higher employment rate mainly because of the Protestant religion. In particular, to say that Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism and other religions do not emphasise a culture of work shows a degree of ignorance about other world religions. In the Hindu tradition for instance, we say that work is worship.

"We must not forget that many countries like India started off with very high levels of economic development, but after years of colonial rule by foreign countries, their economic might was stripped. Interestingly, many of the colonial powers in the world also seem to be protestant. But it would be wrong to conclude from this fact that Protestants believe in occupying other countries.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2566736.ece

Ruth Gledhill Religion Correspondent of The Times