Trabalho, economia e sociedade

um olhar histórico/social para as guildas medievais e a teologia de Lutero

Abstract

Martin Luther's theology is the result of a social and religious process that developed over the course of several centuries. This process was influenced by various social issues: the guilds, which were trade organizations, played a very important role in this changing society. They developed in a context of a crisis of values and social identity, which was driven by various phenomena, contributing to the transition from the agrarian feudal system to the beginning of a capitalist and urban system. Values that had previously been unquestionable began to be challenged. In this environment, the Protestant Reformation emerged, based on the idea that a person receives happiness through faith and not through actions, which contrasts with the logic practiced by the guilds. In his reflections on society, Luther argued that Christian people lived in the world and witnessed their faith in three spheres: oeconomia, politia e ecclesia. Through these spheres, communion with God finds its existential expression and, in them, there is also reflection on social ethics and the dignity of every working person. The term Beruf, coined by Luther, has at its core the concept that Christian people become cooperators with God in building a new mundanity.