AFAIK protestant work ethics are rooted in Calvinism, which heavily influenced many sects in the U.S., but not or to a lesser degree the northern european countries.
Calvinism influenced the Netherlands a lot, I'm not really so much versed in Calvinism in America but if you want to compare I'd suggest starting there.
Even more interesting because I consider Netherlands the closest you get in Continental Europe to a Scandinavian country (socially/economically speaking).
Isn't it also true that in Scandinavia religion started losing ground earlier and faster than in the rest of the West? As far as I know, religion is barely relevant for most scandinavians (apart from the influence it has had on all western culture, of course), whereas it still greatly influences the worldview of most americans.
May be protestantism is the origin of this kind of work ethics, probably exacerbated by american history (colonising a new world, carving a new place for themselves in a barely-known land...).
Can you guys expand on this? It's something I'm usually interested in but being raised in a Roman Catholic country doesn't make it obvious what differences might exist between Calvinism and Protestantism.
Also catholic-raised, but from my understanding Calvino very strongly defended discipline and hard work over faith. In contrast, catholicism places a greater emphasis on... well, not sinning.
