Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach

COMMENT

The actual title of today’s devotion from the BCL Newsletter is Pietism vs. Piety — What’s the Difference? I must admit that, somewhere in my mind, tucked away in a place likely never to be recovered, I had heard of Pietism before, but this study opened my eyes to another facet of Christianity and Church History. The simple “difference for me boiled down to needing a personal experience vs. seeking God’s piety or holiness.

The devotion is short but loaded with Scripture references. I encourage you to look them up and conduct your own study in addition to the study materials I provided. Is your church, or your Pastor, providing you with an experience, or leading you to Holiness with God?

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STUDY

pietism. Broadly speaking, a movement within Christianity that stresses personal devotion, godliness and religious experience. More specifically, pietism refers to a particular movement within seventeenth-century *Lutheranism, led by Philipp Jakob Spener (1635–1705) and A. H. Francke (1663–1727), which encouraged believers to be involved in small groups and to pursue personal devotion as a means of growth and to counter impersonal intellectualism. While some in the Reformed tradition view pietism as emphasizing experience to the detriment of intellect, others understand it as a natural partner of intellectual growth since *piety is a genuine manifestation of *regeneration. While extreme forms of pietism may lead to legalism or subjectivism, the movement continues to stimulate personal and communal growth in the global Reformed community.

piety. Often described as godly practices, spiritual habits or experiential religion, piety is a central concern of many Reformed theologians, pastors and laity. A prime example is *Puritan devotional literature, which encourages dedication to *prayer, fasting, Bible reading and self-examination. Reformed piety is Bible-centered and rooted in *grace and the gift of *faith, and as such, it has much in common with other strands of *pietism within *evangelicalism. Although different Reformed subtraditions emphasize particular expressions of piety, from personal *holiness to *social action, they are united in upholding the necessity of practical godliness as the fruit of true faith

Kelly M. Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013), 87.

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What does ‘piety’ mean?

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What defines Pietism as a religious movement?

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What are the Core Tenets of Pietism

Pietism resists simple definition, but scholars identify ten core emphases: orthodox Protestant doctrine; experiential, transformative Christianity; conversion and spiritual rebirth; a strong devotional life and personal relationship with God; holy living and transformed character; the Bible as a medium for direct encounter with God; Christian life lived in community; world transformation toward God’s kingdom; ecumenical Christianity; and the common priesthood of believers1.

More broadly, four recurring themes characterize the movement: a critique of the institutional church as fallen, separation from that corrupted institution, emphasis on new birth and personal holiness through the Holy Spirit, and an expectation of adult conversion1. Pietism challenged state religion to a more vigorous expression of faith and discipleship, differing from later Lutheranism by insisting that Christians could actively transform the world and had a duty to change earthly conditions for God’s glory1.

A crucial misunderstanding surrounds Pietism’s relationship to worldly life. Rather than rejecting material pleasures as inherently evil, Pietist leaders preached that Christians should avoid frivolities and remain focused on glorifying God and serving others2. Pietists did not despise the material world; instead, they believed their salvation partly depended on caring for it2.

The movement, however, contained internal divisions. While early Pietist leaders like Spener and Francke intended to reform the Lutheran Church from within rather than separate from it2, Radical Pietists, influenced by Jakob Boehme’s critique of institutional religion, concluded that the true church existed outside formal structures and that mainstream Pietists compromised too much with ecclesiastical institutions2. This radical branch would profoundly shape later movements, particularly the Brethren tradition.

1. 1Jason S. Barnhart, Word-Spirit Communal Revelationalism: The Brethren-Evangelical Theological Epistemology of Dr. J. Allen Miller (1866–1935) (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2022). [See here, here, here, here.]
2. 2Kathryn S. Eisenbise, Cooperative Salvation: A Brethren View of Atonement (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2014). [See here, here, here, here.]

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What is the Historical Understanding of Piety

Historical understanding of piety has evolved significantly across philosophical and religious traditions, shifting from abstract definition toward lived experience and spiritual attachment.

In classical philosophy, Plato’s Euthyphro initiated sustained inquiry into whether holiness derives from divine approval or exists independently and is merely recognized by the gods1. This dialogue effectively separated the concept of the holy from divine authority, opening the possibility that humans rather than gods might determine what counts as holy1. When Roman thinkers like Cicero engaged the concept, piety acquired sharper political dimensions, becoming philosophically intertwined with Rome’s transition from republic to monarchy and its imperial expansion1.

Religious understanding of piety shifted the emphasis from abstract principle to concrete experience. In New Testament times, piety was understood as reverent fear of God expressed through specific practices—prayer, almsgiving, and fasting formed the traditional triad of pious acts2. More contemporary theological reflection has deepened this experiential dimension. Piety emerges from the psychological reality of separation—both from our origins and from the divine source of existence—functioning as a spiritual homing instinct that reconnects us to our source with gratitude and devotion1.

Modern theology, particularly in thinkers like Heschel, reconceives piety as the bridge between ordinary life and moments of divine revelation. Piety links the continuous flow of human experience with those distinctive, unrepeatable events when God’s reality becomes overwhelmingly apparent and compels our response1. Understood as faithful adherence to patterns grounded in divine revelation, piety enables believers to inhabit the clarity of insight even when direct experience fades and doubt returns1. This framework emphasizes that piety is not merely intellectual assent but a sustained spiritual posture rooted in transformative encounters with the divine.

1. 1Joseph Harp Britton, Abraham Heschel and the Phenomenon of Piety (London; New Delhi; New York; Sydney: Bloomsbury, 2013), 24–25, 189.
2. 2J. I. Packer, Wayne Grudem, and Ajith Fernando, eds., ESV Global Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 1917.

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DEVOTION

Pietism vs. Piety — What’s the Difference?

Many people seek a personal, subjective experience with God of some kind, perhaps by seeing a vision or hearing a revelation of some kind. It may be that someone has encouraged you to seek a similar experience. Does the Bible encourage Christians to do this?

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