An Introduction to German Pietism: Protestant Renewal at the Dawn of Modern Europe

by Douglas H. Shantz, Peter C. Erb (Foreword by)

Overview

An up-to-date portrait of a defining moment in the Christian story—its beginnings, worldview, and cultural significance.

Winner of the Dale W. Brown Book Award of the Young Center for Anabaptists and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College

An Introduction to German Pietism provides a scholarly investigation of a movement that changed the history of Protestantism. The Pietists can be credited with inspiring both Evangelicalism and modern individualism.

Taking into account new discoveries in the field, Douglas H. Shantz focuses on features of Pietism that made it religiously and culturally significant. He discusses the social and religious roots of Pietism in earlier German Radicalism and situates Pietist beginnings in three cities: Frankfurt, Leipzig, and Halle. Shantz also examines the cultural worlds of the Pietists, including Pietism and gender, Pietists as readers and translators of the Bible, and Pietists as missionaries to the far reaches of the world. He not only considers Pietism's role in shaping modern western religion and culture but also reflects on the relevance of the Pietist religious paradigm of today.

The first survey of German Pietism in English in forty years, An Introduction to German Pietism provides a narrative interpretation of the movement as a whole. The book's accessible tone and concise portrayal of an extensive and complex subject make it ideal for courses on early modern Christianity and German history. The book includes appendices with translations of German primary sources and discussion questions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421408316
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	04/15/2013
Series:	Young Center Books in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies
Pages:	520
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Douglas H. Shantz is Professor of Christian Thought at the University of Calgary and the author of Between Sardis and Philadelphia: The Life and World of Pietist Court Preacher Conrad Bröske.

Table of Contents

List of Figures, Maps, and Tables xi

Foreword, by Peter C. Erb xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction: Issues in Defining and Describing the Pietist Movement 1

Part I The Setting and Inspiration for German Pietism

Chapter 1 German Radicalism and Orthodox Lutheran Reform 15

Chapter 2 The Thirty Years War, Seventeenth-Century Calvinism, and Reformed Pietism 42

Part II A Tale of Three Cities

Chapter 3 Beginnings of Lutheran Pietism in Frankfurt, 1670 to 1684 71

Chapter 4 Conventicles and Conflicts in Leipzig and the Second Wave, 1684 to 1694 98

Chapter 5 Halle Pietism and Universal Social Reform, 1695 to 1727 117

Part III The Social and Cultural Worlds of German Pietism

Chapter 6 Radical German Pietism in Europe and North America 147

Chapter 7 Pietism and Gender 179

Chapter 8 Pietism and the Bible 204

Chapter 9 Pietism, World Christianity, and Missions to South India and Labrador 237

Part IV Pietism and Modernity

Chapter 10 The Contribution of German Pietism to the Modern World 273

Conclusion. Reflecting on the Cultural and Religious Legacy of German Pietism 283

Appendixes

A Sources in Translation 291

B Translation of Georg Heinrich Neubauer's "183 Questions" (1697) 339

C Discussion Questions 347

D Student Members of the Leipzig Circle of Pietists in the Late 1680s 355

Notes 361

Bibliographies and Further Reading 453

Index of Persons and Places 477

What People are Saying About This

Jonathan Strom

Shantz's lively book explores the sweep of Pietism from its sixteenth-century antecedents to the later figures of Bengel and Oetinger. Drawing on his own research and the wealth of recent scholarship, he makes sense of Pietism's diverse streams, the competing attempts to define it, and its ambivalent legacy for modernity. Without question, this is now the most cogent account of Pietism in English.

From the Publisher

In Shantz’s book there is a fine balance between the 'old' and the 'new' approaches to the movement, keeping what is of proven importance and adding to this the 'new' that has opened Pietism to the modern world in the past three decades . . . It offers in its conclusion and in its argument a whole strategy for assessing what is of continuing value in the cultural and religious legacy of German Pietism.
—from the Foreword, by Peter C. Erb

Shantz's lively book explores the sweep of Pietism from its sixteenth-century antecedents to the later figures of Bengel and Oetinger. Drawing on his own research and the wealth of recent scholarship, he makes sense of Pietism's diverse streams, the competing attempts to define it, and its ambivalent legacy for modernity. Without question, this is now the most cogent account of Pietism in English.
—Jonathan Strom, Emory University

from the Foreword

In Shantz’s book there is a fine balance between the 'old' and the 'new' approaches to the movement, keeping what is of proven importance and adding to this the 'new' that has opened Pietism to the modern world in the past three decades . . . It offers in its conclusion and in its argument a whole strategy for assessing what is of continuing value in the cultural and religious legacy of German Pietism.

Editorial Reviews

Shantz succeeds in providing a detailed, but largely accessible introduction to a movement that becomes harder to define, or to ignore, the more attention it gathers from scholars on both sides of the Atlantic. Among its other virtues, An Introduction to German Pietism also serves as an introduction to German scholars on the subject.

Mennonite Quarterly Review - Christopher Gehrz

An excellent entree to the history and character of Pietism.

Catholic Historical Review - Carter Lindberg

Douglas Shantz's book An Introduction to German Pietism: Protestant Renewal at the Dawn of Modern Europe . . . is easily the most thorough history Pietism available in English. . . No other recent book as effectively expounds the past thirty years of historians' struggles with this topic or provides as thorough a narrative, or suggests as many appropriate avenues for further inquiry. The work is nuanced, detailed, and fully conversant with the hundreds of years of sectarian debate in its social context and current historiography.

German History - Daniel van Voorhis

Not only will it correct loads of bad and biased information, it will provide you with a full and nuanced understanding of the subject.

Word & World - Mark Granquist

Shantz documents the great diversity within Pietism through accounts of scores of individuals and their unique contributions . . . Highly recommended.

Choice

Shantz documents the great diversity within Pietism through accounts of scores of individuals and their unique contributions . . . Highly recommended.
—Choice

An excellent entree to the history and character of Pietism.
—Carter Lindberg, Catholic Historical Review

This book creates a critical foundation for grasping many of the significant influences on transatlantic Evangelicalism. . . It is an excellent introduction to the study of German Pietism. . . This book can be read by anyone interested in learning more about German Pietism.
—Tom Schwanda, Evangelical Studies Bulletin

Shantz succeeds in providing a detailed, but largely accessible introduction to a movement that becomes harder to define, or to ignore, the more attention it gathers from scholars on both sides of the Atlantic. Among its other virtues, An Introduction to German Pietism also serves as an introduction to German scholars on the subject.
—Christopher Gehrz, Mennonite Quarterly Review

Douglas Shantz's book An Introduction to German Pietism: Protestant Renewal at the Dawn of Modern Europe . . . is easily the most thorough history Pietism available in English. . . No other recent book as effectively expounds the past thirty years of historians' struggles with this topic or provides as thorough a narrative, or suggests as many appropriate avenues for further inquiry. The work is nuanced, detailed, and fully conversant with the hundreds of years of sectarian debate in its social context and current historiography.
—Daniel van Voorhis, German History

[An Introduction to German Pietism] is an outstanding introduction to German Pietism. The theme itself if a complex one and Shantz makes an admirable attempt to elucidate it . . . In sum, this book is a laudable contribution to the field of Pietist studies.
—Andrew L Thomas, The New Criterion

An Introduction to German Pietism is an impressive scholarly work. . . This book is clearly written and well structured. It tackles a complicated historiographical field while still emphasizing Shantz's own interpretation of Pietism's importance in the development of modern Europe and modern religion. Most importantly, it serves its primary purpose as an engaging and clear introduction to the study of German Pietism.
—Avram Heisler, Renaissance and Reformation

Not only will it correct loads of bad and biased information, it will provide you with a full and nuanced understanding of the subject.
—Mark Granquist, Word & World

From the Publisher

This book creates a critical foundation for grasping many of the significant influences on transatlantic Evangelicalism. . . It is an excellent introduction to the study of German Pietism. . . This book can be read by anyone interested in learning more about German Pietism.

Evangelical Studies Bulletin - Tom Schwanda

An Introduction to German Pietism is an impressive scholarly work. . . This book is clearly written and well structured. It tackles a complicated historiographical field while still emphasizing Shantz's own interpretation of Pietism's importance in the development of modern Europe and modern religion. Most importantly, it serves its primary purpose as an engaging and clear introduction to the study of German Pietism.

Renaissance and Reformation - Avram Heisler

[An Introduction to German Pietism] is an outstanding introduction to German Pietism. The theme itself if a complex one and Shantz makes an admirable attempt to elucidate it . . . In sum, this book is a laudable contribution to the field of Pietist studies.

The New Criterion - Andrew L Thomas