Pietistic Sects

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Pietistic Sects

Origin. A sect usually emphasizes some aspect of an orthodox faith that has been neglected in a denomination and depends on the perfection of its adherents, rather than church institutions, to effect salvation. Most of the pietistic sects that appeared in the colonies originated in central Europe in the latter part of the seventeenth century as an effort to revitalize and purify the growing intellectualism and formalism of the Protestant churches. Most of these groups settled in the tolerant climate of Pennsylvania and other proprietary colonies to the south.

Mennonites and Amish. The Mennonites arrived in Pennsylvania in 1683, settling in an area around Philadelphia which they named Germantown. They were joined by other pacifist sects who agreed with their goal of returning to the simple, primitive church of the early Christian communities. Such a life demanded discipline that could best be maintained when their adherents were separated from the rest of society and immune to its changes. The Amish were even more socially conservative in their determination to retain simplicity in their separated agricultural communities and eschewed almost all contact with outsiders; the Mennonites tolerated some interaction as long as it did not dilute community cohesion.

Dunkers. The Church of the Brethren received the name “Dunkers” because they believed in complete immersion during baptism. Otherwise, they were quite similar to the Mennonites and worked closely with them when the Dunkers first arrived in 1719. Their intellectual leader, Christopher Sauer, established Sunday schools and a printing press which issued a German-language newspaper and an edition of Martin Luther’s Bible, the first printed in America. Their most colorful leader was Johann Conrad Beissel, who left Germantown to establish the Ephrata Cloister, which practiced celibacy and a communal sharing of goods. In their belief Adam originally was androgynous, with the female wisdom coexisting with male divinity. Humans only exhibited carnal appetites after Adam was split into Adam and Eve. Only by transcending sexuality could humans return to a unity with God. Therefore, brothers and sisters lived separately, performing their separate but equal duties, which included printing, illuminating manuscripts, composing and performing musical pieces, and serving as a cultural center for all Germans in Pennsylvania.

Moravians. It is difficult to categorize Moravians or the Renewed Church of the United Brethren, but they operated much as a sect during this period, concentrating on awakening all to a spiritual pietism that transcended denominational boundaries. They preached that once people had the ecstatic experience of union with God, the converted could be assured of their inability to sin and their eventual salvation. The idea of a pan-Protestant union that would join all denominations probably originated with Count Nikolaus Zinzendorf, who opened his estate in Saxony to many pietistic and sectarian refugees. The first immigrants arrived in Georgia in 1735 to minister to Native Americans and slaves. Because they were pacifists, they were forced to leave and moved into Pennsylvania, where Zinzendorf joined them in 1741 and founded several missionary towns. In the course of the next decade some followed the backcountry route to North Carolina and founded villages there. In these settlements Moravians revived such early Christian practices as the love feast and foot washing. They held land and property in common and worked in cohorts organized by age and sex. Women exercised considerable power in their religious lives and secular pursuits. All surpluses went to support the extensive missionary networks, which particularly targeted Native Americans and enjoyed great success. Initially they also enjoyed good relations with the other pietistic sects and reformed denominations because they were willing to follow the particular customs in whatever congregation they were preaching. Later, however, they were suspected of trying to steal those members away and split existing congregations. They joined the early revivalists in the 1730s in riding the crest of the waves of the Great Awakening but then split with them over doctrinal issues. The United Brethren then turned their focus inward to their own settlements, which increasingly separated from neighboring communities.