As a general term, piety the expression of devotion as the expression of one's personal commitment. As such piety is common in most cultures and religions. The term may even apply, as in 'filial piety,' to devotion to one's parents. Piety, on its own, usually refers to the emphasis on devotion in one's religion.
Pietism, usually spelled with a capital initial letter, however, refers to a specific religious movement of the 17Cent. Reacting to the sterility of dogmatic dominance in the German Lutheran church of that time, pietism sought to restore a sense of personal relatedness in religion in which great emphasis was placed on devotion and feeling as the hallmark of the Christian faith. Most church historian trace the origin of this pietistic movement to the Lutheran pastor Philip Spencer and his spiritual son August Francke. From Frankfort, the movement's influence quickly spread, its religious significance considered second only to that of Martin Luther. Significantly John Wesley's contact with members of the Moravian mission of Count von Zinzendorf during his stint in America that stirred his soul to the question of his spiritual state before God and led eventually to his "heart strangely warmed" in 1738. At the other end of the spectrum, Friedrich Scheiermacher's pietic background would lead him to develop a brand of theology that would set the foundations for the liberal theology that was to characterize much of the Western world from the 19th Cent onwards.
As we have noted above, pietism as such is a broad phenomenon, and some historians would also consider the Puritanism (which preceded Spencer), as pietistic.
Further Reading:
'Pietism,' in Encyclopedia Britannica
Resources: John H. Armstrong, "Editor's Introduction," Reformation & Revival, 10.1 (2001):7-18. John S. Andrews, "'Sinners Jesus will receive'—the British Reception of Neumeister's hymn," Evangelical Quarterly 4 (1983): 223-230. Andrew S. Hamilton, "Early Brethren Hermeneutical Perspective," Ashland Theological Journal 35 (2003):1-36. Mark Noll, "The Recovery of Piety in the Post-Pious West," Journal of the Irish Christian Study Centre 04 (1989): 19-31. David Eung-Yul Ryoo, "The Moravian Missions Strategy: Christ-Centered, Spirit-Driven, Mission-Minded," Haddington House Journal 12 (2010): 35-49. ©ALBERITH
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