An Introduction to German Pietism

[An Introduction to German Pietism] is an outstanding introduction to German Pietism. The theme itself if a complex one and Shantz makes an admirable attempt to elucidate it... In sum, this book is a laudable contribution to the field of Pietist studies.

An Introduction to German Pietism is an impressive scholarly work... This book is clearly written and well structured. It tackles a complicated historiographical field while still emphasizing Shantz's own interpretation of Pietism's importance in the development of modern Europe and modern religion. Most importantly, it serves its primary purpose as an engaging and clear introduction to the study of German Pietism.

Not only will it correct loads of bad and biased information, it will provide you with a full and nuanced understanding of the subject.

In Shantz’s book there is a fine balance between the 'old' and the 'new' approaches to the movement, keeping what is of proven importance and adding to this the 'new' that has opened Pietism to the modern world in the past three decades... It offers in its conclusion and in its argument a whole strategy for assessing what is of continuing value in the cultural and religious legacy of German Pietism.

Shantz's lively book explores the sweep of Pietism from its sixteenth-century antecedents to the later figures of Bengel and Oetinger. Drawing on his own research and the wealth of recent scholarship, he makes sense of Pietism's diverse streams, the competing attempts to define it, and its ambivalent legacy for modernity. Without question, this is now the most cogent account of Pietism in English.