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Webster 1913 Edition

(pī′ē̍-tĭz’m)

Noun.

[Cf. G.

pietismus

, F.

piétisme

The principle or practice of the Pietists.

Strict devotion; also, affectation of devotion.

The

Schöne Seele

, that ideal of gentle

pietism

, in “Wilhelm Meister.”

W. Pater.

Noun.

[See Piety.] Extremely strict devotion, or affectation of piety.

pietism ‎(countable and uncountable, plural pietisms)

(Christianity, often capitalized) A movement in the Lutheran church in the 17th and 18th centuries, calling for a return to practical and devout Christianity.
- 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 739:
  From its earliest days, Pietism was intimately bound up with education.

movement in the Lutheran church