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Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within
Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and disadvantaged. It is also related to its non-Lutheran (but largely Lutheran-descended)
Radical Pietism Radical Pietism are those Christian churches who decided to break with denominational Lutheranism in order to emphasize certain teachings regarding holy living. Radical Pietists contrast with Church Pietists, who chose to remain within their Lut ...
offshoot that either diversified or spread into various denominations or traditions, and has also had a contributing influence over the
interdenominational Interdenominationalism is an evangelical Protestant movement of cooperation among various Christian denominations. History The movement has its origins in the founding of the London Missionary Society, a missionary society, in 1795 by variou ...
Evangelical Christianity Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...
movement. Although the movement is aligned exclusively within Lutheranism, it had a tremendous impact on
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
worldwide, particularly in North America and Europe. Pietism originated in modern
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in the late 17th century with the work of
Philipp Spener Philipp Jakob Spener (23 January 1635 – 5 February 1705), was a German Lutheran theologian who essentially founded what would become to be known as Pietism. He was later dubbed the "Father of Pietism". A prolific writer, his two main works, '' ...
, a Lutheran theologian whose emphasis on personal transformation through spiritual rebirth and renewal, individual devotion, and piety laid the foundations for the movement. Although Spener did not directly advocate the quietistic, legalistic, and semi-separatist practices of Pietism, they were more or less involved in the positions he assumed or the practices which he encouraged. Pietism spread from Germany to Switzerland and the rest of German-speaking Europe, to Scandinavia and the Baltics (where it was heavily influential, leaving a permanent mark on the region's dominant Lutheranism, with figures like
Hans Nielsen Hauge Hans Nielsen Hauge (3 April 1771 – 29 March 1824) was a 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran lay minister, spiritual leader, business entrepreneur, social reformer and author. He led a noted Pietism revival known as the Haugean movement. Hauge is als ...
in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
,
Peter Spaak Peter Spaak (6 June 1696 - 2 December 1769) was a Swedish Protestant Reformer. Challenging the Lutheran orthodoxy as an early proponent of freedom of religion in Sweden, he founded the society of Pietists based in the Diocese of Gothenburg, a so ...
and
Carl Olof Rosenius Carl Olof Rosenius (February 3, 1816 – February 24, 1868) was a Swedish lay preacher, author and editor of the monthly ''Pietisten'' (The Pietist) from 1842 to 1868.''Twice-Born Hymns'' by J. Irving Erickson, (Chicago: Covenant Press, 1976 ...
in Sweden,
Katarina Asplund Katarina Asplund (1690-1758), was a Finnish pietist. She was a leading figure within the pietism movement in Österbotten and known as a visionary A visionary, defined broadly, is one who can envision the future. For some groups, this can invo ...
in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, and
Barbara von Krüdener Beate Barbara Juliane Freifrau von Krüdener (née Freiin von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel; ), often called by her formal French name, Madame de Krüdener, was a Baltic German religious mystic, author, and Pietist Lutheran theologian who exerted i ...
in the Baltics, and to the rest of Europe. It was further taken to North America, primarily by German and Scandinavian immigrants. There, it influenced Protestants of other ethnic and other (non-Lutheran) denominational backgrounds, contributing to the 18th-century foundation of evangelicalism, an
interdenominational Interdenominationalism is an evangelical Protestant movement of cooperation among various Christian denominations. History The movement has its origins in the founding of the London Missionary Society, a missionary society, in 1795 by variou ...
movement within Protestantism that today has some 300 million followers. In the middle of the 19th century, Lars Levi Laestadius spearheaded a Pietist revival in Scandinavia that upheld what came to be known as Laestadian Lutheran theology, which is adhered to today by the
Laestadian Lutheran Church The Laestadian Lutheran Church (LLC) is a religious Christian movement, its teachings based on the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions. From June 9, 1973, the organisation was named the Association of American Laestadian Congregations (AALC), ...
as well as by several congregations within other mainstream Lutheran Churches, such as the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positio ...
. The Eielsen Synod and
Association of Free Lutheran Congregations The Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (AFLC) is the sixth largest Lutheran church body in the United States. The AFLC includes congregations from the former Lutheran Free Church in 27 different U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. The ...
are Pietist Lutheran bodies that emerged in the Pietist Lutheran movement in Norway, which was spearheaded by
Hans Nielsen Hauge Hans Nielsen Hauge (3 April 1771 – 29 March 1824) was a 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran lay minister, spiritual leader, business entrepreneur, social reformer and author. He led a noted Pietism revival known as the Haugean movement. Hauge is als ...
. In 1900, the
Church of the Lutheran Brethren The Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America (CLBA) is a Lutheran denomination of Christians rooted in a Pietist Lutheran spiritual awakening at the turn of the 20th century. History Origins Following the occurrence of a Pietist spiritual ...
was founded and it adheres to Pietist Lutheran theology, emphasizing a personal conversion experience. Whereas Pietistic Lutherans stayed within the Lutheran tradition, adherents of a related movement known as
Radical Pietism Radical Pietism are those Christian churches who decided to break with denominational Lutheranism in order to emphasize certain teachings regarding holy living. Radical Pietists contrast with Church Pietists, who chose to remain within their Lut ...
believed in separating from the established Lutheran Churches. Some of the theological tenets of Pietism also influenced other traditions of
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, inspiring the Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
movement and
Alexander Mack Alexander Mack ( 27 July 1679 – 19 January 1735) was a German clergyman and the leader and first minister of the Schwarzenau Brethren (or German Baptists) in the Schwarzenau, Wittgenstein community of modern-day Bad Berleburg, North Rhi ...
to begin the Anabaptist Brethren movement. Pietism (in lower case spelling) is also used to refer to an "emphasis on devotional experience and practices", or an "affectation of devotion", "pious sentiment, especially of an exaggerated or affected nature", not necessarily connected with Lutheranism or even Christianity.


Beliefs

Pietistic Lutherans meet together in
conventicle A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly, and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level ''conventicle'' is only a good Latinized synonym of the Greek word church, and points to Jesus' promise in M ...
s, "apart from Divine Service in order to mutually encourage piety". They believe "that any true Christian could point back in his or her life to an inner struggle with sin that culminated in a crisis and ultimately a decision to start a new, Christ-centered life." Pietistic Lutherans emphasize following "biblical divine commands of believers to live a holy life and to strive for holy living, or sanctification".


By country


Germany

Pietism did not die out in the 18th century, but was alive and active in the American ''Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchenverein des Westens'' (German Evangelical Church Society of the West, based in Gravois, later
German Evangelical Synod of North America The Evangelical Synod of North America, before 1927 German Evangelical Synod of North America, in German ''(Deutsche) Evangelische Synode von Nord-Amerika'', was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States existing from the mid-19th ...
and still later the
Evangelical and Reformed Church The Evangelical and Reformed Church (E&R) was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1934 by the merger of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) with the Evangelical Synod of North America (ESNA). A ...
, a precursor of the
United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...
.) The church president from 1901 to 1914 was a pietist named Jakob Pister. Some vestiges of Pietism were still present in 1957 at the time of the formation of the United Church of Christ. In the 21st century Pietism is still alive in groups inside the
Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist) and United (e.g. Prussian Union) Protestant regional churches and denominations in German ...
. These groups are called ''Landeskirchliche Gemeinschaften'' and emerged in the second half of the 19th century in the so-called ''Gemeinschaftsbewegung''. The 19th century saw a revival of confessional Lutheran doctrine, known as the neo-Lutheran movement. This movement focused on a reassertion of the identity of Lutherans as a distinct group within the broader community of
Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
, with a renewed focus on the
Lutheran Confessions ''The Book of Concord'' (1580) or ''Concordia'' (often referred to as the ''Lutheran Confessions'') is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since ...
as a key source of Lutheran doctrine. Associated with these changes was a renewed focus on traditional doctrine and liturgy, which paralleled the growth of
Anglo-Catholicism Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...
in England. Some writers on the history of Pietism – e.g. Heppe and Ritschl – have included under it nearly all religious tendencies amongst Protestants of the last three centuries in the direction of a more serious cultivation of personal piety than that prevalent in the various established churches. Ritschl, too, treats Pietism as a retrograde movement of Christian life towards Catholicism. Some historians also speak of a later or modern Pietism, characterizing thereby a party in the German Church probably influenced by remains of Spener's Pietism in
Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...
, on the
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, in
Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...
,
Halle upon Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...
, and
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
. The party, termed the ''Repristination Movement'', was chiefly distinguished by its opposition to an independent scientific study of theology, its principal theological leader being Hengstenberg and its chief literary organ, the ''Evangelische Kirchenzeitung''. Pietism also had a strong influence on contemporary artistic culture in Germany; though unread today, the Pietist
Johann Georg Hamann Johann Georg Hamann (; ; 27 August 1730 – 21 June 1788) was a German Lutheran philosopher from Königsberg known as "the Wizard of the North" who was one of the leader figures of post-Kantian philosophy. His work was used by his student J. G. ...
held a strong influence in his day. Pietist belief in the power of individual meditation on the divine – a direct, individual approach to the ultimate spiritual reality of God – was probably partly responsible for the uniquely metaphysical, idealistic nature of German Romantic philosophy.


Scandinavia

In
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, Pietistic Lutheranism became popular in 1703. There, the faithful were organized into
conventicles A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly, and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level ''conventicle'' is only a good Latinized synonym of the Greek word church, and points to Jesus' promise in M ...
that "met for prayer and Bible reading". Pietistic Lutheranism entered Sweden in the 1600s after the writings of Johann Arndt, Philipp Jakob Spener, and August Hermann Francke became popular. Pietistic Lutheranism gained patronage under Archbishop Erik Benzelius, who encouraged the Pietistic Lutheran practices.
Laestadian Lutheranism Laestadianism, also known as Laestadian Lutheranism and Apostolic Lutheranism, is a pietistic Lutheran revival movement started in Sápmi in the middle of the 19th century. Named after Swedish Lutheran state church administrator and temperance ...
, a form of Pietistic Lutheranism, continues to flourish in Scandinavia, where
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
priest Lars Levi Laestadius spearheaded the revival in the 19th century.


History


Forerunners

As the forerunners of the Pietists in the strict sense, certain voices had been heard bewailing the shortcomings of the church and advocating a revival of practical and devout Christianity. Amongst them were the
Christian mystic Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...
Jakob Böhme (Behmen);
Johann Arndt Johann Arndt (or Arnd; 27 December 155511 May 1621) was a German Lutheran theologian who wrote several influential books of devotional Christianity. Although reflective of the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy, he is seen as a forerunner of Pietism, a ...
, whose work, ''True Christianity'', became widely known and appreciated;
Heinrich Müller Heinrich Müller may refer to: * Heinrich Müller (cyclist) (born 1926), Swiss cyclist * Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1888) (1888–1957), Swiss football player and manager * Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1909) (1909–2000), Austrian ...
, who described the font, the pulpit, the
confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but si ...
, and the
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
as "the four dumb idols of the Lutheran Church"; the theologian
Johann Valentin Andrea Johannes Valentinus Andreae (17 August 1586 – 27 June 1654), a.k.a. Johannes Valentinus Andreä or Johann Valentin Andreae, was a German theologian, who claimed to be the author of an ancient text known as the ''Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Ro ...
, court chaplain of the Landgrave of Hesse; Schuppius, who sought to restore the Bible to its place in the pulpit; and Theophilus Grossgebauer (d. 1661) of
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...
, who from his pulpit and by his writings raised what he called "the alarm cry of a watchman in
Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Pl ...
".


Founding

The direct originator of the movement was
Philipp Spener Philipp Jakob Spener (23 January 1635 – 5 February 1705), was a German Lutheran theologian who essentially founded what would become to be known as Pietism. He was later dubbed the "Father of Pietism". A prolific writer, his two main works, '' ...
. Born at Rappoltsweiler in Alsace, now in France, on 13 January 1635, trained by a devout godmother who used books of devotion like Arndt's ''True Christianity'', Spener was convinced of the necessity of a moral and religious reformation within German Lutheranism. He studied theology at Strasbourg, where the professors at the time (and especially Sebastian Schmidt) were more inclined to "practical" Christianity than to theological disputation. He afterwards spent a year in
Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
, and was powerfully influenced by the strict moral life and rigid ecclesiastical discipline prevalent there, and also by the preaching and the piety of the Waldensian professor Antoine Leger and the converted Jesuit preacher
Jean de Labadie Jean de Labadie (13 February 1610 – 13 February 1674) was a 17th-century French Pietist. Originally a Jesuit priest, he became a member of the Protestantism, Reformed Church in 1650, before founding the community which became known as the Labad ...
. During a stay in
Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...
, Spener read Grossgebauer's ''Alarm Cry'', and in 1666 he entered upon his first pastoral charge at
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
with a profound opinion that the Christian life within Evangelical Lutheranism was being sacrificed to zeal for rigid
Lutheran orthodoxy Lutheran orthodoxy was an era in the history of Lutheranism, which began in 1580 from the writing of the ''Book of Concord'' and ended at the Age of Enlightenment. Lutheran orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in Calvinism and tridentine Ro ...
. Pietism, as a distinct movement in the German Church, began with religious meetings at Spener's house (''collegia pietatis'') where he repeated his sermons, expounded passages of the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
, and induced those present to join in conversation on religious questions. In 1675, Spener published his ''Pia desideria'' or ''Earnest Desire for a Reform of the True Evangelical Church'', the title giving rise to the term "Pietists". This was originally a pejorative term given to the adherents of the movement by its enemies as a form of ridicule, like that of "Methodists" somewhat later in England. In ''Pia desideria'', Spener made six proposals as the best means of restoring the life of the church: # The earnest and thorough study of the Bible in private meetings, ''ecclesiolae in ecclesia'' (''"little churches within the church"'') # The Christian priesthood being universal, the laity should share in the spiritual government of the church # A knowledge of Christianity must be attended by the practice of it as its indispensable sign and supplement # Instead of merely didactic, and often bitter, attacks on the heterodox and unbelievers, a sympathetic and kindly treatment of them # A reorganization of the theological training of the universities, giving more prominence to the devotional life # A different style of preaching, namely, in the place of pleasing rhetoric, the implanting of Christianity in the inner or new man, the soul of which is faith, and its effects the fruits of life This work produced a great impression throughout Germany. While large numbers of
orthodox Lutheran Lutheran orthodoxy was an era in the history of Lutheranism, which began in 1580 from the writing of the ''Book of Concord'' and ended at the Age of Enlightenment. Lutheran orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in Calvinism and tridentine Rom ...
theologians and pastors were deeply offended by Spener's book, many other pastors immediately adopted Spener's proposals.


Early leaders

In 1686 Spener accepted an appointment to the court-chaplaincy at
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
, which opened to him a wider though more difficult sphere of labor. In
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
, a society of young theologians was formed under his influence for the learned study and devout application of the Bible. Three magistrates belonging to that society, one of whom was August Hermann Francke, subsequently the founder of the famous orphanage at Halle (1695), commenced courses of expository lectures on the Scriptures of a practical and devotional character, and in the
German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...
, which were zealously frequented by both students and townsmen. The lectures aroused the ill-will of the other theologians and pastors of Leipzig, and Francke and his friends left the city, and with the aid of
Christian Thomasius Christian Thomasius (1 January 1655 – 23 September 1728) was a German jurist and philosopher. Biography He was born in Leipzig and was educated by his father, Jakob Thomasius (1622–1684), at that time a junior lecturer in Leipzig Universi ...
and Spener founded the new
University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...
. The theological chairs in the new university were filled in complete conformity with Spener's proposals. The main difference between the new Pietistic Lutheran school and the orthodox Lutherans arose from the Pietists' conception of Christianity as chiefly consisting in a change of heart and consequent holiness of life. Orthodox Lutherans rejected this viewpoint as a gross simplification, stressing the need for the church and for sound theological underpinnings. Spener died in 1705, but the movement, guided by Francke and fertilized from Halle, spread through the whole of Middle and North Germany. Among its greatest achievements, apart from the philanthropic institutions founded at Halle, were the revival of the
Moravian Church , image = AgnusDeiWindow.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , caption = Church emblem featuring the Agnus Dei.Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States , main_classification = Proto-Prot ...
in 1727 by Count von Zinzendorf, Spener's godson and a pupil in the Halle School for Young Noblemen, and the establishment of Protestant missions. In particular,
Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (10 July 1682 – 23 February 1719) was a member of the Lutheran clergy and the first Pietist missionary to India. Early life Ziegenbalg was born in Pulsnitz, Saxony, on 10 July 1682 in a devout Christian family. His f ...
(10 July 1682 – 23 February 1719) became the first Pietist missionary to India. Spener stressed the necessity of a new birth and separation of Christians from the world (see Asceticism). Many Pietists maintained that the new birth always had to be preceded by agonies of repentance, and that only a regenerated theologian could teach theology. The whole school shunned all common worldly amusements, such as dancing, the theatre, and public games. Some believe this led to a new form of justification by works. Its ''ecclesiolae in ecclesia'' also weakened the power and meaning of church organization. These Pietistic attitudes caused a counter-movement at the beginning of the 18th century; one leader was Valentin Ernst Löscher,
superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
at Dresden.


Establishment reaction

Authorities within state-endorsed Churches were suspicious of pietist doctrine which they often viewed as a social danger, as it "seemed either to generate an excess of evangelical fervor and so disturb the public tranquility or to promote a mysticism so nebulous as to obscure the imperatives of morality. A movement which cultivated religious feeling almost as an end itself". While some pietists (such as Francis Magny) held that "mysticism and the moral law went together", for others (like his pupil Françoise-Louise de la Tour) "pietist mysticism did less to reinforce the moral law than to take its place… the principle of 'guidance by inner light' was often a signal to follow the most intense of her inner sentiments… the supremacy of feeling over reason". Religious authorities could bring pressure on pietists, such as when they brought some of Magny's followers before the local
consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...
to answer questions about their unorthodox views or when they banished Magny from
Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district of ...
for heterodoxy in 1713. Likewise, pietism challenged the orthodoxy via new media and formats: Periodical journals gained importance versus the former pasquills and single thesis, traditional
disputation In the scholastic system of education of the Middle Ages, disputations (in Latin: ''disputationes'', singular: ''disputatio'') offered a formalized method of debate designed to uncover and establish truths in theology and in sciences. Fixed ru ...
was replaced by competitive debating, which tried to gain new knowledge instead of defending orthodox scholarship.


Hymnody


Later history

As a distinct movement, Pietism had its greatest strength by the middle of the 18th century; its very individualism in fact helped to prepare the way for the Enlightenment (''Aufklärung''), which took the church in an altogether different direction. Yet some claim that Pietism contributed largely to the revival of Biblical studies in Germany and to making religion once more an affair of the heart and of life and not merely of the intellect. It likewise gave a new emphasis to the role of the laity in the church. Rudolf Sohm claimed that "It was the last great surge of the waves of the ecclesiastical movement begun by the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
; it was the completion and the final form of the Protestantism created by the Reformation. Then came a time when another intellectual power took possession of the minds of men."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...
of the German
Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German ...
framed the same characterization in less positive terms when he called Pietism the last attempt to save Christianity as a religion: Given that for him religion was a negative term, more or less an opposite to
revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
, this constitutes a rather scathing judgment. Bonhoeffer denounced the basic aim of Pietism, to produce a "desired piety" in a person, as unbiblical. Pietism is considered the major influence that led to the creation of the "
Evangelical Church of the Union The Prussian Union of Churches (known under multiple other names) was a major Protestant church body which emerged in 1817 from a series of decrees by Frederick William III of Prussia that united both Lutheran and Reformed denominations in Pr ...
" in
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
in 1817. The King of Prussia ordered the Lutheran and Reformed churches in Prussia to unite; they took the name "Evangelical" as a name both groups had previously identified with. This union movement spread through many German lands in the 1800s. Pietism, with its looser attitude toward confessional theology, had opened the churches to the possibility of uniting. The unification of the two branches of German Protestantism sparked the Schism of the Old Lutherans. Many Lutherans, called
Old Lutherans Old Lutherans were originally German Lutherans in the Kingdom of Prussia, notably in the Province of Silesia, who refused to join the Prussian Union of churches in the 1830s and 1840s. Prussia's king Frederick William III was determined to uni ...
formed
free church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fr ...
es or emigrated to the United States and Australia, where they formed bodies that would later become the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and the
Lutheran Church of Australia The Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) is the major Lutheran denomination in Australia and New Zealand. It counts 540 congregations and 30,026 members according to official statistics. It was created from a merger of the Evangelical Lutheran Chu ...
, respectively. (Many immigrants to America, who agreed with the union movement, formed German Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed congregations, later combined into the
Evangelical Synod of North America The Evangelical Synod of North America, before 1927 German Evangelical Synod of North America, in German ''(Deutsche) Evangelische Synode von Nord-Amerika'', was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States existing from the mid-19th c ...
, which is now a part of the
United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...
.) In the middle of the 19th century, Lars Levi Laestadius spearheaded a Pietist revival in Scandinavia that upheld what came to be known as Laestadian Lutheran theology, which is heralded today by the
Laestadian Lutheran Church The Laestadian Lutheran Church (LLC) is a religious Christian movement, its teachings based on the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions. From June 9, 1973, the organisation was named the Association of American Laestadian Congregations (AALC), ...
as well as by several congregations within mainstream Lutheran Churches, such as the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positio ...
and the
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
. After encountering a
Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...
woman who experienced a conversion, Laestadius had a similar experience that "transformed his life and defined his calling". As such, Laestadius "spend the rest of his life advancing his idea of Lutheran pietism, focusing his energies on marginalized groups in the northernmost regions of the Nordic countries". Laestadius called on his followers to embrace their Lutheran identity and as a result, Laestadian Lutherans have remained a part of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positio ...
, the national Church in that country, with some Laestadian Lutherans being consecrated as
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
s. In the United States, Laestadian Lutheran Churches were formed for Laestadian Pietists. Laestadian Lutherans observe the
Lutheran sacraments The Lutheran sacraments are "sacred acts of divine institution". Lutherans believe that, whenever they are properly administered by the use of the physical component commanded by God along with the divine words of institution, God is, in a way spec ...
, holding classical Lutheran theology on
infant baptism Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. Infant baptism is also called christening by some faith traditions. Most Christians belong to denominations that practice infant baptism. Branches of Christianity that ...
and the
real presence of Christ in the Eucharist The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way. There are a number of Christian denomina ...
, and also heavily emphasize
Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
. Uniquely, Laestadian Lutherans "discourage watching television, attending movies, dancing, playing card games or games of chance, and drinking alcoholic beverages", as well as avoiding birth control—Laestadian Lutheran families usually have four to ten children. Laestadian Lutherans gather in a central location for weeks at a time for summer revival services in which many young adults find their future spouses. R. J. Hollingdale, who translated
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
's '' Thus Spake Zarathustra'' into English, argued that a number of the themes of the work (especially ''
amor fati is a Latin phrase that may be translated as "love of fate" or "love of one's fate". It is used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one's life, including suffering and loss, as good or, at the very least, necessa ...
'') originated in the Lutheran Pietism of Nietzsche's childhood – Nietzsche's father,
Carl Ludwig Nietzsche Carl Ludwig Nietzsche (10 October 1813 – 30 July 1849) was a German Lutheran pastor and the father of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Biography Carl Ludwig Nietzsche was born in Eilenburg, in the Kingdom of Saxony, in 1813, the same ...
, was a Lutheran pastor who supported the Pietist movement. In 1900, the
Church of the Lutheran Brethren The Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America (CLBA) is a Lutheran denomination of Christians rooted in a Pietist Lutheran spiritual awakening at the turn of the 20th century. History Origins Following the occurrence of a Pietist spiritual ...
was founded and it adheres to Pietist Lutheran theology, emphasizing a personal conversion experience.


Impact on party voting in United States and Great Britain

In the United States, Richard L. McCormick says, "In the nineteenth century voters whose religious heritage was pietistic or evangelical were prone to support the Whigs and, later, the Republicans." Paul Kleppner generalizes, "the more pietistic the group's outlook the more intensely Republican its partisan affiliation." McCormick notes that the key link between religious values and politics resulted from the "urge of evangelicals and Pietists to 'reach out and purge the world of sin'". Pietism became influential among Scandinavian Lutherans; additionally it affected other denominations in the United States, such as the Northern Methodists, Northern Baptists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ, and some smaller groups. The great majority were based in the northern states; some of these groups in the South would rather support the Democrats. In England in the late 19th and early 20th century, the Nonconformist Protestant denominations, such as the Methodists, Baptists and Congregationalists, formed the base of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
. David Hempton states, "The Liberal Party was the main beneficiary of Methodist political loyalties."


Cross-Denominational influence


Influence on the Methodists

Pietism was a major influence on John Wesley and others who began the
Methodist movement Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...
in 18th-century
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
. John Wesley was influenced significantly by Moravians (e.g.,
Zinzendorf Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (26 May 1700 – 9 May 1760) was a German religious and social reformer, bishop of the Moravian Church, founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, Christian mission pioneer and a major figu ...
, Peter Boehler) and Pietists connected to Francke and Halle Pietism. The fruit of these Pietist influences can be seen in the modern United Methodist Church, American Methodists and members of the Holiness movement.


Influence on American religion

Pietism had an influence on American religion, as many German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania, New York, and other areas. Its influence can be traced in Evangelicalism. Balmer says that:
Evangelicalism itself, I believe, is quintessentially North American phenomenon, deriving as it did from the confluence of Pietism, Presbyterianism, and the vestiges of Puritanism. Evangelicalism picked up the peculiar characteristics from each strain – warmhearted spirituality from the Pietists (for instance), doctrinal precisionism from the Presbyterians, and individualistic introspection from the Puritans – even as the North American context itself has profoundly shaped the various manifestations of evangelicalism: fundamentalism, neo-evangelicalism, the holiness movement, Pentecostalism, the charismatic movement, and various forms of African-American and Hispanic evangelicalism.


Influence on science

The Merton Thesis is an argument about the nature of early experimental science proposed by Robert K. Merton. Similar to Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, famous claim on the link between Protestant ethic and the capitalist economy, Merton argued for a similar positive correlation between the rise of Protestant Pietism and early experimental science.Sztompka, 2003 The Merton Thesis has resulted in continuous debates.Cohen, 1990


See also

* Amana Colonies * Adolf Köberle * Catholic Charismatic Renewal * Church of the Brethren * Erik Pontoppidan * Evangelical Covenant Church * Evangelical Free Church of America * Friedrich Christoph Oetinger * Friedrich Hölderlin * George Rapp, Johann Georg Rapp * Hans Adolph Brorson * Harmony Society * Henric Schartau * Immanuel Kant * Knightly Piety * Johann Albrecht Bengel * Johann Konrad Dippel * Johannes Kelpius * Mission Covenant Church of Sweden * Templers (religious believers) * ''Theologia Germanica'' * Wesleyanism


References

* See: "Six Principles of Pietism", based on Philip Jacob Spener's six proposals http://www.miamifirstbrethren.org/about-us * *


Further reading

* Brown, Dale: ''Understanding Pietism'', rev. ed. Nappanee, IN: Evangel Publishing House, 1996. * Brunner, Daniel L. ''Halle Pietists in England: Anthony William Boehm and the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge''. Arbeiten zur Geschichte des Pietismus 29. Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1993. * Gehrz, Christopher and Mark Pattie III. ''The Pietist Option: Hope for the Renewal of Christianity''. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2017. * Olson, Roger E., Christian T. Collins Winn. ''Reclaiming Pietism: Retrieving an Evangelical Tradition'' (Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015). xiii + 190 pp
online review
* Shantz, Douglas H. ''An Introduction to German Pietism: Protestant Renewal at the Dawn of Modern Europe''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. * Stoeffler, F. Ernest. ''The Rise of Evangelical Pietism''. Studies in the History of Religion 9. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1965. * Stoeffler, F. Ernest. ''German Pietism During the Eighteenth Century''. Studies in the History of Religion 24. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1973. * Stoeffler, F. Ernest. ed.: ''Continental Pietism and Early American Christianity''. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1976. * Winn, Christian T. et al. eds. ''The Pietist Impulse in Christianity''. Pickwick, 2012. * Yoder, Peter James.

'' University Park: PSU Press, 2021.


Older works

* Joachim Feller, Sonnet. In: ''Luctuosa desideria Quibus'' […] ''Martinum Bornium prosequebantur Quidam Patroni, Praeceptores atque Amici''. Lipsiae [1689], pp. [2]–[3]. (Facsimile in: Reinhard Breymayer (Ed.): ''Luctuosa desideria''. Tübingen 2008, pp. 24–25.) Here for the first time the newly detected source. – Less exactly cf. Martin Brecht: ''Geschichte des Pietismus'', vol. I, p. 4. * Johann Georg Walch, ''Historische und theologische Einleitung in die Religionsstreitigkeiten der evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche'' (1730); * Friedrich August Tholuck, ''Geschichte des Pietismus und des ersten Stadiums der Aufklärung'' (1865); * Heinrich Schmid (theologian), Heinrich Schmid, ''Die Geschichte des Pietismus'' (1863); * Max Goebel, ''Geschichte des christlichen Lebens in der Rheinisch-Westfälischen Kirche'' (3 vols., 1849–1860). The subject is dealt with at length in * Isaak August Dorner's and W Gass's ''Histories of Protestant theology''. Other works are: * Heinrich Heppe, ''Geschichte des Pietismus und der Mystik in der reformierten Kirche'' (1879), which is sympathetic; * Albrecht Ritschl, ''Geschichte des Pietismus'' (5 vols., 1880–1886), which is hostile; and * Eugen Sachsse, ''Ursprung und Wesen des Pietismus'' (1884). See also * Friedrich Wilhelm Franz Nippold's article in ''Theol. Stud. und Kritiken'' (1882), pp. 347?392; * Hans von Schubert, ''Outlines of Church History'', ch. xv. (Eng. trans., 1907); and * Carl Mirbt's article, "Pietismus," in Herzog-Hauck's ''Realencyklopädie für prot. Theologie u. Kirche'', end of vol. xv. The most extensive and current edition on Pietism is the four-volume edition in German, covering the entire movement in Europe and North America * Geschichte des Pietismus (GdP)
Im Auftrag der Historischen Kommission zur Erforschung des Pietismus herausgegeben von Martin Brecht, Klaus Deppermann, Ulrich Gäbler und Hartmut Lehmann
(English: On behalf of the Historical Commission for the Study of pietism edited by Martin Brecht, Klaus Deppermann, Ulrich Gaebler and Hartmut Lehmann) ** ''Band 1:'' Der Pietismus vom siebzehnten bis zum frühen achtzehnten Jahrhundert. In Zusammenarbeit mit Johannes van den Berg, Klaus Deppermann, Johannes Friedrich Gerhard Goeters und Hans Schneider hg. von Martin Brecht. Goettingen 1993. / 584 p. ** ''Band 2:'' Der Pietismus im achtzehnten Jahrhundert. In Zusammenarbeit mit Friedhelm Ackva, Johannes van den Berg, Rudolf Dellsperger, Johann Friedrich Gerhard Goeters, Manfred Jakubowski-Tiessen, Pentii Laasonen, Dietrich Meyer, Ingun Montgomery, Christian Peters, A. Gregg Roeber, Hans Schneider, Patrick Streiff und Horst Weigelt hg. von Martin Brecht und Klaus Deppermann. Goettingen 1995. / 826 p. ** ''Band 3:'' Der Pietismus im neunzehnten und zwanzigsten Jahrhundert. In Zusammenarbeit mit Gustav Adolf Benrath, Eberhard Busch, Pavel Filipi, Arnd Götzelmann, Pentii Laasonen, Hartmut Lehmann, Mark A. Noll, Jörg Ohlemacher, Karl Rennstich und Horst Weigelt unter Mitwirkung von Martin Sallmann hg. von Ulrich Gäbler. Goettingen 2000. / 607 p. ** ''Band 4:'' Glaubenswelt und Lebenswelten des Pietismus. In Zusammenarbeit mit Ruth Albrecht, Martin Brecht, Christian Bunners, Ulrich Gäbler, Andreas Gestrich, Horst Gundlach, Jan Harasimovicz, Manfred Jakubowski-Tiessen, Peter Kriedtke, Martin Kruse, Werner Koch, Markus Matthias, Thomas Müller Bahlke, Gerhard Schäfer (†), Hans-Jürgen Schrader, Walter Sparn, Udo Sträter, Rudolf von Thadden, Richard Trellner, Johannes Wallmann und Hermann Wellenreuther hg. von Hartmut Lehmann. Goettingen 2004. / 709 p.


External links


New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. IX: Pietism

After Three Centuries – The Legacy of Pietism by E.C. Fredrich

Literary Landmarks of Pietism by Martin O. Westerhaus

Pietism's World Mission Enterprise by Ernst H. Wendland

Old Apostolic Lutheran Church of America

The Evangelical Pietist Church of Chatfield
{{Authority control Christian terminology Christian theological movements 17th-century Lutheranism 18th-century Lutheranism Laestadianism Lutheran revivals Lutheran theology Methodism Pietism