Still, Giddens notes, "the character of Protestant beliefs and codes of behavior is quite different from that which might be expected, prima facie, to stimulate economic activity" (125).
Weber finds that the spirit of modern capitalism is characterized by a unique combination of attitudes. On the one hand there is a dedication to amassing wealth through legitimate economic activity, and on the other hand there is an avoidance of the use of this income for personal enjoyment: "This is rooted in a belief in the value of efficient performance in a chosen vocation as a duty and a virtue" (126). Weber sees that the idea of a calling came into being at the time of the Reformation, a concept that does not exist in Catholicism or in Antiquity. The significance of this idea in Protestantism is that it serves to bring the affairs of daily life into an all-embracing religious influence: "The calling of the individual is to fulfill his duty to God through the moral conduct of his day-to-day life. This impels the emphasis of Protestantism away from the Catholic ideal of monastic isolation, with its rejection of the temporal, into worldly pursuits" 127).
This idea was introduced in the Reformation, as noted, and placed the pursuit of worldly activities at center stage.
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