Replies

Thought provoking, and I probably don't have the time right now to craft a reply that could do this article justice.

One problem I have is that i am not sure how the author is defining "pietist". The Pietist movement was started by John Wesley and his brother, and led to the beginning of the Methodists. However it was not just an English movement. The history of the Lutheran church in the US has been one of constantly trying to purge or redirect the pietist movement that took root in the later 1800's.

Basically, Pietism is the belief that you don't "need" a visible church body with creeds or sacraments to be a good Christian. It also puts the focus on righteous living and individual holiness. In many ways it is anti Church because many Pietists have become "lone rangers" and no longer worship at a church building on Sundays.

Their views on government have varied widely throughout the years. Some have advocated a type of republican theocracy (which seems to be what the author is hinting at), but for the most part Pietists reject involvement in any type of governing activity. Government is of the world, and is there for corrupt and sinful. The typical Pietist of the late 1800's to early 1900's would probably share some of the views of the politicians that gave us the Comstock laws, but would not approve of a Christian working to make those laws. Contemporary Christians of the Left Behind mentality often share this view. I mean if we are going to get taken out of the whole mess before it gets REALLY bad, why worry to much about who gets elected?

There are many Pietist influenced movements today. The author talked about "The Purpose Driven Life" as one. But these are something else. People have been trying to blend the popular culture with Christanity to make the later more appealing. The result is a blended mis mash of views that don't fit well into a strictly secular or religious view point.

A more accurate view of the increase of religion in politics is that more and more of the religious Christians in the USA are worried about the moral decline of the nation. Many Roman Catholics and non Catholic groups are forming groups together to work on changing certain issues (ie abortion), and are building connections that ten to twenty years ago would have seemed impossible. I will continue this later, and apologize if this post has rambled on to much.