Politics and attitudes to equality

The argument

Protestantism was more involved in societal improvements including education, the humanities and science. The Protestants’ rejection of the belief that the priest as an intermediary standing between God and humans and the belief that each job was a calling from God led to a new conception of work; it was now understood to be part of one's religious life, and part of God's plan for humans. This ‘Protestant work ethic’ came from the idea of importance of good deeds such as working hard to please God as well as worshiping him in church. Many Protestant churches ‘allow’ women to be ordained. United Church of Christ (whose members were once called Congregationalists) and the Universalists (who eventually merged with the Unitarians) started ordaining women in the 19th century. In some places this is limited. For instance, some priests but can’t be promoted to bishop and beyond. These churches use the explanation of complementarianism: women have different roles in the church – separate but equal. Protestant churches tend to be a lot more liberal than older churches on issues of equality, but this is not universal and often tends to depend on the incumbent bishop or priest.

Premises

Counter-arguments

The description captures one strand of Protestantism but generalises a highly diverse tradition. Protestantism spans everything from liberal mainline churches to conservative evangelical and Pentecostal bodies; many do not ordain women and hold traditional views on gender and sexuality, so 'Protestant churches tend to be more liberal on equality' describes part of the spectrum while the body's own caveat — 'this is not universal' — concedes the rest. The 'Protestant work ethic' is likewise a contested sociological thesis, associated with Max Weber, about the historical effects of Protestant belief on economic culture; treating it as a settled article of what Protestants believe overstates it, and historians dispute how much Protestantism actually drove the developments credited to it. As with other entries in this question, much of the content is social history and attitude rather than doctrine, so it conveys tendencies among some Protestants more than the theological beliefs that define the tradition.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The 'Protestant work ethic' is a contested Weberian thesis about the effects of belief on economic culture, not a doctrine Protestants hold, so it is overstated as a belief. [Rejecting P3] Protestantism spans conservative evangelical and mainline bodies alike; many do not ordain women, so 'more liberal on equality' generalises one strand of a diverse tradition.