The Protestant Ethic Among Taiwanese College Students

ABSTRACT

In an attempt to provide a cross-cultural examination and documentation of the Protestant ethic in an Eastern society, the Mirels-Garrett (1971) scale was administered along with several sociodemographic and attitudinal measures to 700 students in a major university in Taiwan. Results showed that Taiwanese students scored much lower on the Protestant ethic scale than did American students. Among the sociodemographic variables examined, only community origin, standing in school class, and type of parenting were found to be significant. Among the attitudinal measures, authoritarianism and alienation showed a modest correlation with the Protestant ethic, and just-world belief failed to show any correlation. For Taiwanese students, scores on the Protestant ethic scale were not related to age, sex, rural or urban background, socioeconomic status, family power structure, or religious belief or affiliation. The lack of significance of religious variables for the Protestant Ethic scale is interpreted as indicating that the Protestant ethic is not uniquely Protestant among college students in Taiwan; rather, it may represent a general work orientation cutting across all groups, including religious groups.