PIETISM. - The name of P. was given derisively to a reform movement that arose in the 17th century within German Lutheranism, and it appears to have been used for the first time, in 1675, in Hesse-Darmstadt.
I. HISTORY
The rise of P. can be explained by the religious conditions in Germany after the Thirty Years' War. Lutheranism was shaken by continual controversies; theologians placed the Symbolical Books on the same level as Holy Scripture and were fond of quibbling over formulas; theology was arid; churches were everywhere subject to local lords; preaching had lost all vitality, being stuffed with half-digested erudition and irrelevant polemics; the clergy, though well provided for, were lazy and worldly. The people often concealed grave vices beneath a Pharisaic devotion. P. was a reaction against this state of affairs. Three periods may be distinguished in the history of P.:1. Before Spener
The reaction against theological formalism manifested itself as early as the 16th century; its representatives were V. Weigel (d. 1588) and Jacob Böhme (q.v.). Weigel’s works were not published until 1616-1618 and provoked lively discussions. The primary precursor of Spener, however, was Johann Arndt (q.v.). In his work *Vom wahren Christentum* (Brunswick 1606-1608), he opposed the life of Jesus Christ to the vanity of purely formal knowledge; it must not be forgotten, however, that this pre-Pietism appeared within the framework of the Augsburg Confession and displays the essential aspects of Lutheranism.2. During Spener’s lifetime
History recognizes Philipp Jakob Spener as the founder of P. in the proper sense. Born at Ribeauvillé (Alsace) on 23 (25) Jan. 1635, he received his first impressions of “true Christianity” from the castle chaplain of the Count of Ribeaupierre, whose wife was his godmother. One of the first books he read was Arndt’s, to which he added the English Puritan authors, especially Richard Baxter (*Saints’ Everlasting Rest* [1670]). He pursued his studies at the University of Strasbourg, where he came under the influence of two distinguished teachers, the exegete Sebastian Schmidt and the theologian Dannhauer, who inspired in him a strong aversion to formalism and a taste for the interior life. After graduating (1659), Spener lectured at Basel, then at Geneva, where he followed with interest the sermons of the Calvinist “reformer” Jean de Labadie (q.v.), then at Strasbourg and Tübingen, where he came into contact with several university professors. As a free preacher at Strasbourg, Spener became, in 1666, the first pastor of Frankfurt. The need for regeneration became for him a kind of refrain. By a singular coincidence, when Labadie, disgusted by the indifference of the masses, established at Geneva “meetings of piety,” Spener, who was unaware of this initiative, felt the same need and invited his most fervent parishioners to replace Sunday games with gatherings for edifying readings. He launched his first appeal in the sermon for the 17th Sunday after Trinity in 1669. Thus originated the *Collegia pietatis*, established in 1670; from this name came the nickname of P. or also of “Christianity of conviviality,” which was given to the movement. The meetings were held in Spener’s house twice a week: they reviewed the previous Sunday’s sermon, read and commented on the relevant Gospel passage, then read devotional works and sang hymns. From 1675 onward, the reading and study of the Bible, done without any concern for scholarly exegesis, became the main object of these gatherings, which were transferred to the catechetical instruction hall. The regulars at these “clandestine meetings” conceived a sincere pride in their “true Christianity” and began openly to despise or even denigrate all those who remained outside the movement. Spener energetically opposed this kind of separatism but could not prevent P. from degenerating into an intolerant “bigotry.” In 1675 he published Arndt’s sermons, thus showing that he was directly linking himself to that precursor. He added a long introduction that caused a great stir and was later published separately in 1678 under the title *Pia desideria*. In this work one must seek the essence of P. according to Spener. It opens with an impressive description of the decline of Lutheranism and constitutes a historical documentation of great value, even if the assertions of a “reformer,” too inclined to exaggerate, are not to be taken literally. As remedies he suggests the following means of “regeneration”: a) daily reading of the Bible in the family or at meetings of piety; b) the universal priesthood, i.e., an apostolic effort in all Christians; c) the conviction that Christianity is not merely a heritage of ideas but, above all, a life; d) much patience, charity, and gentleness toward sinners, i.e., toward dissenters, those who do not practice P.; e) reform of the universities in the spirit of the “German Theology,” of the works of Tauler and Thomas à Kempis, with frequent use of the Bible; f) radical reform of preaching, which must become more edifying (he presents Arndt’s sermons as models).Spener’s ideas were passionately discussed throughout Germany. More than 500 controversial pamphlets or booklets were published between 1690 and 1699. The chief critic was B. Mentzer, court preacher at Darmstadt; the Consistory of Hesse forbade the *Collegia pietatis* in 1678. Spener was accused of sympathizing with Catholic devotions and, since Germany was at war with France, of being a bad German. Moreover, the spirit of the “clandestine meetings” was criticized, the regulars of which affected an air of sanctity. In 1686 Spener was called to Dresden as court preacher of Saxony. Professor J. B. Carpzov of the University of Leipzig proposed the creation of *Collegia philobiblica* among scholars (a kind of Bible study circles). The principal organizers of this movement were two young professors, August Hermann Francke and Paul Anton. During a book fair in Leipzig, Spener came into contact with them in 1687. Under Francke’s direction, completely won over to Spener’s ideas, the *Collegia* took on a “Pietist” character that contrasted with their earlier scholarly concerns. Protests broke out; Carpzov, irritated, declared himself against P. and became one of its most ardent opponents. An ordinance of the Elector of Saxony (10 March 1690) forbade the “meetings of piety.” Spener, moreover, had lost all credit with the Elector because of certain delicately phrased remarks about his private conduct. He then willingly accepted a post in Berlin (1691), where he died in 1705.
3. After Spener
The controversies surrounding Pietism continued. The University of Wittenberg discovered 283 errors in Spener’s writings; one of the most violent pamphlets against him was that of Pastor Roth of Halle: *Imago Pietismi*. But Spener had been fortunate enough to obtain from the Elector of Brandenburg in 1694 the establishment at the University of Halle of a faculty of theology, where he was able to place as professors some of his most faithful supporters: Breithaupt, Francke, Paul Anton, Michaelis, Lange, and Hernachmied. This faculty became, after Spener, one of the strongholds of Pietism. Another center was the University of Tübingen (Württemberg) with the professors Jäger, Pfaff, Hochstetter, and Reuchlin. While the Pietist school of Halle, under Francke’s impulse, remained strictly within the sphere of piety, that of Tübingen assumed a more scholarly aspect and penetrated more deeply into the clergy and the intellectual world.The principal adversary of Pietism in the 18th century was Valentin Löscher, who in his work *Timotheus Verinus* (1711–22), directed against the Pietist professor Lange of Halle, gave the following characteristics of Pietism: 1) doctrinal indifferentism disguised as piety; 2) contempt for the Sacraments; 3) lack of respect for the sacred ministry, reduced to slavery by forms of piety; 4) confusion of faith with works in justification; 5) tendency toward millenarianism; 6) limitation of the efficacy of divine Grace; 7) tendency toward mysticism; 8) meticulousness in condemning *adiaphora*; 9) destruction of the *subsidia religionis* (visible Church, confessions of faith, liturgical guides); 10) indulgence toward Enlightenment sectarians; 11) perfectionism that identifies Christian activity with the growth of faith and demands the complete annihilation of the old Adam; 12) reformism that restricts the Church to the world of the regenerate; 13) separatism.
Opposed simultaneously by the Enlightenment (Wolff, Semler) and by orthodox Lutheranism, Pietism gradually lost its prestige. It has survived to our day as a spirit within Lutheranism, though remaining aloof and at peace with hierarchy and orthodoxy.
II. DOCTRINE AND INFLUENCE
The doctrine of Pietism can be summarized as follows: 1) a true theologian must be regenerate. The theology of the unregenerate is nothing but an inadmissible philosophy in divine matters; 2) through regeneration, the will of fallen man becomes capable of good again; the illumination of the intellect is merely an accessory aspect and always occurs when the transformation of the will takes place through the work of the Holy Spirit; 3) *adiaphora*, or morally indifferent actions, do not exist. Everything is either good or evil. All that does not tend toward the honor of God and of Jesus Christ is evil, especially dancing, games, and the theater; 4) every regenerate Christian is an apostle and must work to spread the Kingdom of God.Such a doctrine could not fail to have a profound influence on Lutheran society of the time. Through Pietism, charitable works spread; Francke provided a notable example by devoting himself to poor and abandoned children. Pietism exerted a great influence on the rationalist movement of the Enlightenment, which was in itself a reaction against the arid theology of old Lutheranism. But while the Enlightenment was the reaction of the mind, Pietism was the reaction of the heart. The rationalist philosophy was combated by Pietism, but on the practical rather than the intellectual plane. By dividing the Lutheran field, Pietism favored the Enlightenment, just as Puritanism had favored the entry of free thought into England and Jansenism had paved the way for philosophy in France. Nevertheless, Pietism even won over some philosophers to its cause: Kant was somewhat Pietist, at least in formation and education, though he did not find in such formation any preservative against agnosticism. Finally, one must recall the influence of Pietism Zinzendorf (v.) in the founding of the sect of the Moravian Brethren. Zinzendorf’s work can be considered an extension of Pietism.