Final answer:
Max Weber believed that certain forms of Protestantism, especially the Protestant work ethic, were instrumental in the development of capitalism, promoting hard work and frugal use of profits, thereby driving economic activities and change.
Step-by-step explanation:
Max Weber, the German sociologist and political economist, posited that religion, particularly certain types of Protestantism, was a significant factor in the development of capitalism. Weber observed that in Protestant societies such as those in the Netherlands, England, Scotland, and Germany, there was a distinctive link between religious beliefs and the rise of economic activities leading to capitalism. In his seminal work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905), Weber argued that the Protestant work ethic encouraged individualism, hard work, success, and frugality – attitudes that were conducive to the growth and development of capitalist economies. This ethic promoted the idea that material gain was a sign of God's favor, and it had the permissible side effect of incentivizing productivity and frugal use of profits. Contrary to Durkheim's view of religion as social glue, Weber analyzed religion as a potential catalyst of social transformation and economic change.