Pietismus Handbuch ed. by Wolfgang Breul

Abstract

Reviewed by: Pietismus Handbuch ed. by Wolfgang Breul Peter James Yoder Pietismus Handbuch. Edited by Wolfgang Breul. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2021. xi + 797 pp. Wolfgang Breul, a prominent scholar of Pietism, offers an excellent addition to the growing body of research regarding the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century German Protestant renewal movement. In its breadth of engagement, accessibility of information, and collection of formidable contributors, this encyclopedic work stands out among recent German-language introductions to Pietism, especially as it complements and offers correctives to the four-volume Geschichte des Pietismus (1993–2004) commissioned by the Historischen Kommission zur Erforschung des Pietismus. The over fifty articles found in this handbook are grouped under six headings: 1) Orientierung; 2) Anfänge; 3) Personen und Gruppen; 4) Städte, Territorien, Regionen, Länder; 5) Themen; and 6) Beziehungen, Wirkung, und Rezeption. Breul nestles the topics of theology, piety (Frömmigkeit), and society and culture into the “Themen (Topics)” category. The articles are relatively brief synopses, and the list of contributors includes both well-established Pietism scholars and younger researchers, who have brought fresh insight into the study of the movement. The volume begins with a collection of methodological and research-oriented articles. Among these are Brigitte Klosterberg’s “Archive, Bibliotheken, Editionen” and Katherine Faull’s “Digital Humanities,” both of which help further an understanding of access to important Pietist texts and are useful companions to the 127-page bibliography of primary and secondary literature found at the end of the volume. The second section, “Anfänge [End Page 476] (Beginnings),” contains articles on individuals, movements, and theological systems (such as alchemy, “mystical spiritualism,” and Lutheran Orthodoxy) that played a role in initiating Pietism. It is notable that broad, inclusive definitions of Pietism, found in the works of F. Ernest Stoeffler and Martin Brecht, are given a backseat to perspectives that recognize the independence and particularity of German Pietism or the mutual inter-dependence of Pietism and other reform movements. Thus, instead of an article featuring William Perkins as a father of Pietism, Jan van de Kamp (“Pietismus und Puritanismus”) provides insight into the place of Puritan devotional literature in Pietism, noting the complexity in how individuals appropriated certain Puritan writings or ideas into their own contexts. The contributions in “Personen und Gruppen” cover a range of Lutheran, Reformed, Moravian, and “radical” individuals. Among the articles on those associated with Pietism, Douglas Shantz’s “Johann Friedrich Rock und die Inspirierten” and Malte van Spankeren’s “Johann Jacob Rambach” offer insight into individuals and groups often located on the periphery of the movement. The fourth section offers contributions covering important cities, territories, and regions associated with Pietism. Breul has included articles on Scandinavia (Manfred Jakubowski-Tiessen and Urban Claesson) and southeastern Europe (Zoltan Csepregi), but there is an absence of contributions on London or the broader connection to England. The section on “Themen (Topics)” does a fine job of covering most major ideas and practices of Pietists, though the important world of catechesis, especially as a platform for renewal, does not find the amount of discussion it deserves. The final section includes eight articles that offer a sense of Pietism’s ongoing place in the history of Protestantism. Jan Carsten Schnurr’s contribution “Erweckungsbewegung (Awakening Movement)” exemplifies the articles of this section. Schnurr elaborates on the complex relationship between the nineteenth-century German awakening movement and Pietism, situating Pietism among other influences upon that awakening. He proceeds to trace specific points in which we find connections between German Pietism, “Spätpietismus (Late Pietism),” and the awakening movements in [End Page 477] Germany. By tracing this religious genealogy, he—among others in this section— provides bookends to the volume. Among recent one-volume introductions to German Pietism, this book stands out as a resource for academics. It offers substantive insight into the various dynamics of Pietism and complements long-standing introductions. The volume’s limitations are to be expected, considering the scope and length of the articles. Where we would hope to find a detailed examination of an idea, individual, or event, we are left with a condensed summary. Nevertheless, this work does a superb job introducing readers to the movement and leading them toward...