Pietism was a movement that emphasized works rather than doctrine. The Pietists were unionistic from the beginning, compromising with the Reformed. Some attributes of Pietism include:
1. The lay-led cell group, or Bible study group, considered the "real church" within the larger and less active church.
2. Scorn toward doctrinal orthodoxy and those who consider it important.
3. Willingness to give up the sacraments and the efficacy of the Word to work with the Reformed.
4. A holier-than-thou attitude created by the cell groups being the "real church."
5. Love-bombing those coming into the cells while shunning those who leave.
6. Always measuring the church and the individual by works.
7. A tendency to become Unitarian in the next generation.
Walther was converted by Pietism and never gave it up entirely. He could not bring himself to criticize Spener, the founder of Pietism.
ELCA was founded by the earlier Pietist, Muhlenberg. Later migrations of Pietists made up additional elements of ELCA (Augustana Synod - Swedish Pietists).
The foundation of the Wisconsin Synod was Pietistic.
The Little Sect on the Prairie was largely Norwegian and influenced by Pietism.
The attributes of Pietism are the same as the Church Growth Movement and the latest version of CGM: the Purpose-Driven Church.
