Pietism

[pahy-i-tiz-uhm]

noun

1. a movement, originating in the Lutheran Church in Germany in the 17th century, that stressed personal piety over religious formality and orthodoxy.

2. the principles and practices of the Pietists.

3. (lowercase),  intensity of religious devotion or feeling.

4. (lowercase),  exaggeration or affectation of piety.

   Synonyms: sanctimony

pietism

¹

/ ˈpaɪɪˌtɪzəm /

noun

1. a less common word for piety

2. excessive, exaggerated, or affected piety or saintliness

Pietism

²

/ ˈpaɪɪˌtɪzəm /

noun

1. history a reform movement in the German Lutheran Churches during the 17th and 18th centuries that strove to renew the devotional ideal

Other Word Forms

• Pietist noun
• pietistic adjective
• pietistical adjective
• pietistically adverb
• pietist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pietism¹

1690–1700; < German Pietismus < Latin piet ( ās ) piety + German -ismus -ism

Example Sentences

The difference was that he could not imagine finding that experience within Pietism.

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His faith was grounded in personal Pietism, a doctrine that ignored the political origins of injustice.

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Though he might not have recognised the label, Bach’s faith falls within the movement known as German Pietism, which reached its high-water mark in his lifetime.

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Amid the religious movements of the beginning of the century Pietism gained a decided advantage.

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In 1746 the reign of Pietism came to an end on the death of Christian VI.

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