ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the significance of religion when it comes to our attitudes towards work. It examines how much the Danes work and go through some of the circumstances that lead people to push themselves, on a daily basis, by working excessively hard. The sixteenth century saw the rise of Puritanism in Northern Europe. According to the Puritans, hard physical as well as spiritual labour was the only way to salvation. The German economist and sociologist Max Weber has united work, morals, and religion in the term: “the protestant work ethic”. Today, work has almost become a sacred duty in the Western world. Many people do practically nothing but work. They are literally working themselves to death. The Protestant way of thinking has shaped cultures and societies in Europe and the USA, and Weber consequently felt that there had to be a connection between this way of thinking and our attitudes towards work.
