Practical Piety

Hannah More's Practical Piety emerged from her conviction that the evangelical revival of her era needed grounding in daily Christian living. Writing in 1811 as a prominent lay Anglican and moral reformer, More addressed what she saw as a dangerous gap between religious enthusiasm and practical holiness. Her work responded to both the spiritual coldness of formal religion and the potential excesses of evangelical fervor, seeking a middle path that emphasized genuine conversion expressed through consistent moral action.

The book argues that true Christianity must penetrate every aspect of daily life, from personal devotions to social relationships. More develops the theme that authentic faith produces visible fruit in character transformation, charitable action, and careful attention to ordinary duties. She emphasizes the cultivation of habits that form Christian character over time, particularly prayer, scripture reading, and self-examination. Her approach integrates evangelical concern for personal conversion with Anglican emphasis on moral formation, presenting practical guidance for living out Christian principles in family relationships, social interactions, and public responsibilities. More particularly addresses the spiritual dangers facing women of her social class, warning against both worldliness and false spirituality while encouraging active engagement in moral reform.

Practical Piety became influential in both Britain and America as a model of evangelical Anglican spirituality that avoided both formalism and enthusiasm. The work helped shape nineteenth-century understanding of how personal faith should express itself in social action and moral reform. Who should read this: readers interested in the development of evangelical Anglican thought, the intersection of personal piety and social reform, and historical perspectives on Christian moral formation. This work will particularly appeal to those studying women's contributions to religious literature and the spiritual foundations of nineteenth-century reform movements.