Tolerating Particularity: German Pietism and Jews' Conversion in the Late Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

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Abstract

Historical discussions about German Pietism's posture toward Jews underlined Pietists' attempts at their conversion as the dominant feature of their relationship. Contesting orthodoxy, Pietists favored a lenient attitude toward Jews, arguing that their change of heart might hasten salvation. However, revisiting Pietists' texts, I argue that from the late seventeenth century on, these awakened Protestants acknowledged the improbability of conversion. By the new meaning they gave to religious adherence, Pietists believed that mere baptism would not turn Jews into Christians. In fact, as they developed closer acquaintance with Jews, they came to realize that their efforts at mission would not succeed. More than any other confessional strand, Pietists conceptualized Jews not merely as those who denied Christ as the messiah. They also came to see the Jews as a people whose belief in God crossed beyond religious devotion into a unique, inalterable culture, and who therefore should be constructively tolerated.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3-26
Number of pages24
JournalJournal of Religious History
Volume47
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2023

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© 2023 Religious History Association.

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