This chapter examines the rich theological framework within which the Puritan ideal of thrift first developed. The Puritans believed quite explicitly that thrift was a necessary condition for human thriving because it was the proper response to divine grace. As such, Puritan thrift expressed an ethic of responsible, profitable, and pious management of time, talents, and treasure. As important as such “inner-worldly asceticism” may have been as a mark of salvation to the individual believer, thrift was not reducible to a private, individual practice for the Puritans. Rather, it was as much a...

This chapter examines the rich theological framework within which the Puritan ideal of thrift first developed. The Puritans believed quite explicitly that thrift was a necessary condition for human thriving because it was the proper response to divine grace. As such, Puritan thrift expressed an ethic of responsible, profitable, and pious management of time, talents, and treasure. As important as such “inner-worldly asceticism” may have been as a mark of salvation to the individual believer, thrift was not reducible to a private, individual practice for the Puritans. Rather, it was as much a spiritual calling for whole communities as it was for the individuals who constituted them.