# The Puritan — Religion and the Rise of Capitalism character guide

> The Puritan in Religion and the Rise of Capitalism by R. H. Tawney.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the Puritan, Puritan

**First appearance:** 0003-religion-and-the-rise-of-capitalism

## Snapshot

The zealous bargainer whose ethic blessed economic efficiency while slipping, unintentionally, toward an individualism that left society without obligation to the poor.

## Who they are

The Puritan embodies the double-edged legacy of Calvinism: a creed that sanctified private duty and economic virtue while its critics accused it of mercilessness in hard bargains and harshness to the poor. Tawney watches the loftiest teaching cast its own shadow, as insistence on the soul's solitary contact with its Maker slides toward the suggestion that society bears no responsibility for its members. This tension between discipline and drift is the engine of the book's central argument about how religious ethics reshaped social policy after the mid-seventeenth century.

## Relationships

### [Jesus Christ](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/characters/jesus_christ)

_psychological_

The Puritan movement centers on a personal, rigorous emulation of Christ's moral teachings, viewing Christ as the ultimate model for conduct.

### [Mr. Badman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/characters/mr_badman)

_rivalry_

Mr. Badman exemplifies the worldly, unrepentant sinner that Puritans sought to reform or condemn, creating a stark moral dichotomy.

### [Jesus Christ](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/characters/jesus_christ)

_psychological_

The Puritan movement centers on a personal, rigorous emulation of Christ's moral teachings, viewing Christ as the ultimate model for conduct.

### [Mr. Badman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/characters/mr_badman)

_rivalry_

Mr. Badman exemplifies the worldly, unrepentant sinner that Puritans sought to reform or condemn, creating a stark moral dichotomy.

## In the story

### [Religion and the Rise of Capitalism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/chapters/religion-and-the-rise-of-capitalism)

Representative of the Puritan movement whose work ethic and economic attitudes are central to the analysis.

### [I: The Medieval Background](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/chapters/i-the-medieval-background)

Referenced indirectly through the 'Pilgrim Fathers' as an example of reformers who held that social morality is the province of the Church.

### [III: Calvin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/chapters/iii-calvin)

Mentioned as deriving from Calvin's teaching; Puritan moralists are noted for their contrast with medieval theologians and Luther, assuming an advanced economic organization.

### [IV: The Puritan Movement](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/chapters/iv-the-puritan-movement)

Central figure of the chapter; embodies the tension between religious discipline and economic individualism.

### [Puritanism and Society](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/chapters/i-puritanism-and-society)

Central figure of the chapter; embodies the spirit of Puritanism, viewing mundane toil as a sacrament and striving to glorify God through work.

### [II: A Godly Discipline Versus the Religion of Trade](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/chapters/ii-a-godly-discipline-versus-the-religion-of-trade)

Central subject of the chapter; depicted as embodying both collectivist discipline and individualist liberty, with a social philosophy that evolved over time.

### [III: The Triumph of Economic Virtues](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/chapters/iii-the-triumph-of-economic-virtues)

The Puritan movement is central, evolving from a backward-looking critique of economic abuses to a forward-looking embrace of enterprise as a divine calling.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/chapters/endnotes)

The diversity within seventeenth-century Puritanism is emphasized, including conflicting social theories among aristocrats, Levellers, landowners, Diggers, merchants, and artisans.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/characters/the_puritan
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/religion_and_the_rise_of_capitalism_se/characters