ABSTRACT

In discussing the various aspects of Pietism in the context of transatlantic religious revivals, three theses may be helpful. First, definitions of Pietism have changed considerably over time, and particularly in the last hundred years. Second, Pietism never was a homogenous religious movement; rather, the term Pietism always characterized a conglomerate of more or less different religious revivals. And third, as of now, with the exception of W.R. Ward’s The Protestant Evangelical Awakening, no scholar has attempted to define Pietism as part of a series of religious revivals in the Atlantic World. If we look at Pietism as a religious reform movement in a transatlantic context, however, new questions deserving careful consideration arise.