Pietism and the Conventicle Edict

Pietism was a religious movement that started in Germany during the latter part of the 17th century. Traditionally, the Pietist movement has been viewed as a backlash against intellectualism prevalent in and among the Protestant ranks, especially in the Lutheran Church during that period. The poor Swedish soldiers, who spent long years as prisoners in Tobolsk following the battle of Poltava, had to hold their own Lutheran mass thus learning to appreciate pietism. It was with their return that the movement really took off in Sweden. However, the Swedish Lutheran Church disapproved most strongly of unauthorized preaching, which led to the Conventicle Edict of 1726, forbidding any religious gatherings outside the framework of the Church.