Protestantism & wealth

http://andrewleigh.com/?p=1477

The above link connects to a study which queries the basis of the "Protestant ethic" explanation for wealth creationm expounded by Max Weber.
Briefly, this theory states that the teachings of Protestantism created the conditions for economic growth. Protestantism recommends that we be thrifty, careful with money, scorning adornment and superficial conspicuous consumption; that we shoudl save for the future, just as we look to the life after death.
A sub-set of the theory states that Calvinism in particular taught that only the elect go to heaven, but nobody knows who they are. Because God blesses those who believe in him, then your wealth indicates how blessed you are and is an indicator of whether you are one of the elect. So Calvinists become wealthy.
The theory isn't popular nowadays, except the bit about wealth being an indicator of faith. The "prosperity Gospel" teachers say that if you believe faithfully then you will receive all manner of good things, which they interpret as being large lumps of money. In particular, if you give to the church (i.e., them) then you will certainly receive ten times that much back.
Yes, they are disgraceful scum. Not a very good reading of the New Testament, or the prophets of the OT either, come to that. Never heard about the "eye of the needle" story, clearly.
But that's another story.

Another flaw in the Weber thesis is evident nowadays. There's a dstinct lack of Calvinism in the highly wealthy Shintoist Japanese. The Jews in business and the professions, and in Israel, are not famous for being Protestants and the religion doesn't even teach life after death. Indians used not to care about wealth because it was all the result of previous lives. Moslems - well, if you can find a reason why Islam doesn't have a good track record in wealth creation, you're cleverer than me.

Back to the link.
The link above identifies the connection between Protestantism and prosperity, but sees the causality elsewhere. It's the focus on literacy that made the difference. Because Protestants are taught to study the Bible, they had to learn to read. So there is a correlation between literacy and wealth. (Though numeracy is probably just as important. If a worker can't count, how does he check his overtime?)
And not mentioned is another spin-off from religion. If you study the Bible and stand up for the interpretation, you develop an independent attitude. You are not subservient to another's view, and not dependent on him. This may breed an entrepreneurial attitude.
Only a theory, no evidence for it.