Between sociology and theology: the spirit of capitalism debate

This paper revisits the debate on the Spirit of Capitalism in order to show how this well-known sociological theme might be revitalised through an enc ounter with themes from theology. The paper seeks to offer some of the reso urces by which it might be possible to think about the 'moral texture' of t he German tradition of sociology. In so doing, it seeks to compare and cont rast the general theme of the Spirit of Capitalism in the work of the Prote stant theologian Paul Tillich with debates raised in the neo-Kantian sociol ogy of Georg Simmel and Max Weber. Tillich's discussion of the Spirit of Ca pitalism is discussed in detail and it is used as the basis for some conclu ding speculations about the relationship between the disciplines of sociolo gy and theology.