Work, Occupations, and Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of research on the relationship between religion and work, occupations, and entrepreneurship. It begins with a review of Max Weber’s well-known Protestant Work Ethic thesis and problematizes it using extant research from sociology, psychology, and business. The relationship of religion to workplace outcomes is complex, neither always positive nor always negative. We highlight various dimensions of religion and their implications from job satisfaction to work-life balance strategies. We review growing scholarship on the role of religious stratification in the workplace as well. We introduce new research examining the impact of religion on entrepreneurship and close with suggestions for future research.