Interdisciplinary Centre for Pietism Research

Who we are

The Interdisciplinary Centre for Pietism Research (IZP) at MLU is a unique institution dedicated to the study of Pietism and related currents of Christianity in the context of religious transformation processes from the early modern period to the present. Since its founding in 1993, the IZP has bridged the gap between university research and the Francke Foundations, which, as a significant institution for the history of Pietism, possess outstanding archives and collections. Beyond its own research projects, the IZP sees itself as an institution that has been networking researchers nationally and internationally for decades, raising awareness of their work – both via academic venues and through activities for a more general audience. This is achieved through conferences, lecture series, workshops, and mentoring for young researchers.

CFP: Pietism and Rule
VII. International Congress for Pietism Research
Halle/Saale, September 5-8, 2027

CFP Pietismus und Herrschaft 2027
CFP Pietismus und Herrschaft 2027.pdf (320.8 KB)  vom 04.12.2025

CFP Pietism and Rule 2027
CFP Pietism and Rule 2027.pdf (390.6 KB)  vom 04.12.2025

IZP programme flyer winter term 2025/26

Flyer winter term 2025/26
Programm IZP WS 2025_26.pdf (4.6 MB)  vom 17.10.2025

27. Januar 2026, 18.15 Uhr
Luther, Scheibel und der Isiskult – Zu den „psychologisch-historischen“ Grundlagen des Neuluthertums

Prof. Dr. Anselm Schubert (Erlangen)

Ort: Halle, Franckesche Stiftungen, Haus 26, Englischer Saal

IZP-Vortragsreihe "Bibel, Böhme und Bekehrte"

Der Breslauer Professor Johann Gottfried Scheibel (1783-1843)  war der Kopf des lutherischen Widerstands gegen die preussische  Kirchenpolitik. Damit wurde er zu einer der wichtigsten Figuren der  neukonfessionellen Erweckung im Luthertum, die die evangelischen Kirchen  in Deutschland bis weit ins 20. Jahrhundert tief geprägt hat. So sehr  sein Kampf für das bekenntnistreue Luthertum sich auf die Lehre des  Reformators berief, so sehr beruhte sein fanatischer Kampf gegen die  anderen christlichen Konfessionen doch auf radikalaufklärerischen  Verschwörungstheorien, auf vormodernen Ideen von Völker- und  Rassepsychologien und einer geradezu obsessiven Angst vor männlicher  Sexualität. In der Person Scheibels lässt sich anschaulich zeigen, dass  das Neuluthertum - entgegen seiner eigenen Wahrnehmung - keineswegs nur  die Rückkehr zur reinen Lehre der Reformation war, sondern seine Wurzeln  auch in ganz und gar zeitbedingten Diskursen des 19. Jahrhunderts hatte.

Digital unter:

https://uni-halle.webex.com/meet/izp

Lecture series
Bibel, Böhme und Bekehrte:
Christentum in Deutschland zwischen Erweckung und Konfessionalisierung

IZP lecture series winter term 2025/26

The decades between the Napoleonic Wars and the revolutionary upheavals of 1830 and 1848 were characterised not only by profound social and political transformations but also by dynamic religious developments across Europe. New forms of experience-centred religiosity emerged; confessional boundaries were questioned; and philosophical, theosophical, and spiritualist ideas circulated between churches, cultural spheres, and the sciences. In the German-speaking world, these tendencies are frequently subsumed under the term Erweckungsbewegung (Revivalist Movement), which is generally understood as part of a wider transnational wave of religious revivalism in the early nineteenth century.

This lecture series seeks to open up fresh perspectives on this period and its diverse, often contradictory, religious phenomena—ranging from speculative and spiritualist currents to irenic and separatist movements—some of which brought them into conflict with established state churches.

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Natural Science and Protestant Missionary Work - Blog

The plant collections of the Moravian Church in the herbarium of the Dresden University of Technology: identificationand contextualization using digital humanities methods

For more information, visit our blog   

Dissertation honored

The prestigious award from the European Academy of Religion goes to Giovanni Tortoriello for his dissertation:

Scala Christus est. Reassessing the Historical Context of Martin Luther's Theology of the Cross, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2023 (Spätmittelalter, Humanismus, Reformation, Band 135)

https://www.europeanacademyofreligion.org/it/alberigo-award   

Conference reports

Christian Knorr von Rosenroth and Petism

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