Weber describes the rigorous investigation of moral worth, probation, and balloting that preceded baptism and admission to a local congregation and argued that the resultant certificate of membership insured credit everywhere, even from out-of-town strangers and nonmembers of the sect.

XREF: Connects to Weber's Protestant ethic thesis and the idea that religious credentials translated into economic trust in early capitalism.

Shapiro, Susan P., The Social Control of Imper…, loc. 89