The interplay between religious ethics and economic development has been one of the focal themes of sociological reasoning and research. Max Weber was the most influential sociologist to establish a positive relationship between the Protestant sect and the development of capitalism in the West. He also aroused the controversy that religion of India, particularly Hinduism, is not conducive to the development of capitalism. The book examines the relationship between religious sects of Christianity, Jainism and Sikhism and the level of their social development in the city of Agra. It also examines social development vis-a-vis social and religious practices of the sect, interplay between sect and society, conflict and harmony, and modernism and development. It is a study that can remove the stigma attached to Indian religions in hindering development. Based on extensive fieldwork, this important contribution to the field of Sociology of Religion will prove useful to students, researchers, teachers and intellectuals.

Poornima Jain obtained her Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and thereafter started her teaching career in 1983 at Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed University), Agra. Besides several research papers presented in national and international seminars, she has also published a book Working Women and Care of the Aged. Presently she is the Head of the Department of Sociology and Political Science, and of the Department of Life Long Learning and Extension, Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed University), Agra. She is also the Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences at the same university.