Piety and Modernity

Third volume in the series Dynamics of Religious Reform.
Piety and Modernity examines the dynamics of religious reform from the point of view of piety and devotional life between 1780 and 1920 in Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, Germany, and the Low Countries.

The 'long' nineteenth century saw the introduction of devotional organizations as a means of channeling popular religion. This era also witnessed the translation and publication of devotional books, journals, and pamphlets on a massive scale. This edited volume explores the nature of pious reforms in such areas as liturgy, saint cults, pilgrimage, confraternities, hymns, and Bible translation, with an emphasis on the changing patterns in religious expression at the collective and individual level, the growing influence of home missions, and the relations between piety and print culture.

The interaction of piety and modernity is an important theme. While individual piety was often connected with the authority of church leaders and confessional teaching, the long nineteenth century gave rise to new forms of individualism, involving grassroots initiatives. This volume offers a rich overview of a range of interrelated national practices concerning piety in the nineteenth century.

Contributors
Ingunn Folkestad Breisteinn (Ansgar College and Theological Seminary, Kristiansand), Mary Heimann (University of Strathclyde), Janice Holmes (The Open University in Ireland), Anders Jarlert (Lund University), F.A. (Fred) van Lieburg (University Amsterdam), Hugh McLeod (University of Birmingham), Peter Jan Margry (Meertens Institute, Amsterdam), Tine Van Osselaer (University of Leuven), Bernhard Schneider (Trier University), Johs. Enggaard Stidsen (University of Copenhagen).