View source for Piety

{{Short description|Religious devotion or spirituality}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:British - Piety - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|"Piety", [[Dulwich Picture Gallery]]]]'''Piety''' is a [[virtue]]  which may include [[religion|religious devotion]] or [[spirituality]]. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context, piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among countries and cultures.

== Etymology ==
The word piety comes from the [[Latin]] word {{lang|la|[[Pietas (virtue)|pietas]]}}, the noun form of the adjective {{lang|la|pius}} (which means "devout" or "dutiful"). English literature scholar [[Alan Jacobs (academic)|Alan Jacobs]] has written about the origins and early meaning of the term:<ref>{{Cite web|first=Alan|last=Jacobs|date=2022-03-31|title=Recovering Piety|url=https://comment.org/recovering-piety/|access-date=2023-04-23|website=Comment Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref>
{{quote|It is not, in its origin, a Christian word. The Roman poet [[Virgil]] calls his hero {{lang|la|pius [[Aeneas]]}}, says that he is a {{lang|la|pietāte virum}}, but we might well mislead readers were we to say "pious Aeneas" or a "pious man." For his character is unmarked by the smarmy religiosity we typically associate with the word "pious." Aeneas is {{em|devoted}} to his mission, is {{em|faithful}} to the call of the gods on his life. He is willing to sacrifice his own interests to those greater interests, especially to the founding of the great city of Rome. He binds his will and his heart to that task. This is what it means to be {{lang|la|pius}}.}}

==Classical interpretation==
{{lang|la|Pietas}} in traditional Latin usage expressed a complex, highly valued [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] virtue; a man with {{lang|la|pietas}} respected his responsibilities to gods, country, parents, and kin.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{citation|author=[[Cicero]]|title=Nature of the Gods|at=I.116}} 
|2={{citation|author=[[Cicero]]|title=On Rhetorical Invention|at=II.66}}
}}</ref> In its strictest sense it was the sort of love a son ought to have for his father. [[Aeneas]]'s consistent [[Epithet#Literature|epithet]] in [[Virgil]] and other Latin authors is {{lang|la|pius}}, a term  which connotes reverence toward the gods and familial dutifulness. At the fall of Troy, Aeneas carries to safety his father, the lame [[Anchises]], and the [[Lares]] and [[Penates]], the statues of the household gods.

In addressing whether children have an obligation to provide support for their parents, [[Thomas Aquinas|Aquinas]] quotes, [[Cicero]], "...piety gives both duty and homage": "duty" referring to service, and "homage" to reverence or honor."<ref>{{cite book|first=Thomas|last=Aquinas|author-link=Thomas Aquinas|title=Summa Theologiae|chapter=Secunda Secundae|at=[https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3101.htm Question 101: Piety]; Article 2}}</ref> [[Filial piety]] is central to Confucian [[role ethics|ethics]];<ref name="Chang">{{cite book|last1=Chang|first1=Wonsuk|last2=Kalmanson|first2=Leah|title=Confucianism in Context: Classic Philosophy and Contemporary Issues, East Asia and Beyond|year=2010|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-1-4384-3191-8|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_UC1mvUKaU8C&pg=PA68 68]}}</ref> reverence for parents is considered in Chinese ethics the prime virtue and the basis of all right human relations.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://dwillard.org/articles/christ-centered-piety|last=Willard|first=Dallas|chapter=Christ-Centered Piety|title=Where Shall My Wond'ring Soul Begin?: The Landscape of Evangelical Piety and Thought|location=Grand Rapids, Mich.|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.|year=2000|pages=27–36}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=September 2023}}

==As a virtue==
In [[Roman Catholicism|Catholicism]], [[Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Lutheranism]], and [[Anglicanism]], piety is one of the [[seven gifts of the Holy Spirit]]. "It engenders in the soul a filial respect for God, a generous love toward him, and an affectionate obedience that wants to do what he commands because it loves the one who commands."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=33735|title=Gift of Piety|website=Catholic Dictionary}}</ref> [[Pope Gregory I]], in demonstrating the interrelationship among the gifts, said "Through the [[Fear of God|fear of the Lord]], we rise to piety, from piety then to knowledge..."<ref>{{citation|author=[[Pope Gregory I]]|title=Homiliae in Hiezechihelem Prophetam|at=II 7,7|orig-year=593}}</ref>

[[Thomas Aquinas|Aquinas]] spoke of piety in the context of one's parents and country, and given the obligation to accord each what is rightfully due them, related it to the cardinal virtue of justice. (By analogy, rendering to God what is due him, Aquinas identified as the virtue of religion, also related to justice.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.english.op.org/godzdogz/the-life-of-virtue-piety| last=Pearson|first=Gregory|title=The Life of Virtue—Piety|website=Godsdogz|date=17 July 2009}}</ref>) Professor [[Richard McBrien]] said piety "is a gift of the Holy Spirit by which we are motivated and enabled to be faithful and respectful to those—ultimately, God—who have had a positive, formative influence on our lives and to whom we owe a debt of gratitude,"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://catholiccourier.com/articles/piety-refers-to-more-than-devotional-practices|last=McBrien|first=Richard|title=Piety refers to more than devotional practices|website=Catholic Courier|date=21 December 2009}}</ref> and requires one to acknowledge, to the extent possible, the sources of those many blessings through words and gestures great and small.

Piety belongs to the [[Religion (virtue)|virtue of Religion]], which theologians put among the moral virtues, as a part of the [[Cardinal virtues|cardinal virtue]] [[Justice (virtue)|Justice]], since by it one tenders to God what is due to him.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12748a.htm|last=Delany|first=Joseph|chapter=Virtue of Religion|title=The Catholic Encyclopedia|volume=12|location=New York|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|year=1911}}{{PD-notice}}</ref> The gift of piety perfects the virtue of justice, enabling the individual to fulfill his obligations to God and neighbor, and to do so willingly and joyfully. By inspiring a person with a tender and filial confidence in God, the gift of piety makes them joyfully embrace all that pertains to His service.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm|last=Forget|first=Jacques|chapter=Holy Ghost|title=The Catholic Encyclopedia|volume=7|location=New York|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|year=1910}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>

[[John Calvin]] said, "I call ‘piety’ that reverence joined with love of God which the knowledge of his benefits induces. For until [people] recognize that they owe everything to God, that they are nourished by his fatherly care, that he is the Author of their every good, that they should seek nothing beyond him—they will never yield him willing service."<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book|last=Calvin|first=John|title=[[Institutes of the Christian Religion]]|year=1536|at=I.ii.1}}
|2={{cite web|url=https://www.thebanner.org/features/2011/01/piety-and-religion|last=Cooper|first=Dale|title=Piety and Religion|website=The Banner|publisher=Christian Reformed Church in North America|date=January 18, 2011}}
}}</ref> Bishop [[Pierre Whalon]] says that "Piety, therefore, is the pursuit of an ever-greater sense of being in the presence of God."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://anglicansonline.org/resources/essays/whalon/piety.html|last=Whalon|first=Pierre W.|title=Piety|website=Anglicans Online|date=March 4, 2003}}</ref>

The Gift of Piety is synonymous with of filial trust in God.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orlandodiocese.org/the-gift-of-piety-synonym-of-filial-trust-in-god/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125003207/https://www.orlandodiocese.org/the-gift-of-piety-synonym-of-filial-trust-in-god/|archive-date=2021-01-25|title=The Gift of Piety: Synonym of Filial Trust in God|website=Diocese of Orlando}}</ref> Through piety, a person shows reverence for God as a loving Father, and respect for others as children of God.

[[Pope John Paul II]] defined piety as "the gift of reverence for what comes from God," and related it to his earlier lectures on the Theology of the Body.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dphx.org/tob-tuesdays-27/|last=Zeno|first=Katrina J.|title=Reverent Eros and the Gift of Piety|website=Diocese of Phoenix|date=June 5, 2019}}</ref> In a General Audience in June 2014, [[Pope Francis]] said, "When the Holy Spirit helps us sense the presence of the Lord and all of his love for us, it warms our heart and drives us almost naturally to prayer and celebration."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.catholicsun.org/2014/06/04/pope-piety-is-embracing-god-others-with-real-love-not-fake-devotion/|last=Glatz|first=Carol|title=Pope: Piety is embracing God, others with real love, not fake devotion|website=The Catholic Sun|publisher=Catholic News Service|date=June 4, 2014}}</ref> "Piety", said [[Pope Francis]], points up "our friendship with God." It is a gift that enables people to serve their neighbor "with gentleness and with a smile."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://catholiccourier.com/articles/why-the-gift-of-piety-is-more-than-it-may-seem|last=Gibson|first=David|title=Why the gift of piety is more than it may seem|website=Catholic Courier|publisher=Catholic News Service|date=February 13, 2020}}</ref>

==Piety and devotion ==
{{Main|Popular piety}}
Expressions of piety vary according to country and local tradition. "Feast days", with their preparations for various religious celebrations and activities, have forged traditions peculiar to communities. Many pious exercises are part of the cultic patrimony of particular Churches or religious families.<ref name=Directory>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html|author=Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments|title=Directory on popular piety and the Liturgy|location=Vatican City|date=December 2001}}</ref>{{rp|at=§§7, 20}} Devotions help incorporate faith into daily life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://catholicphilly.com/2017/10/catholic-spirituality/devotions-and-popular-piety-bring-faith-into-everyday-life/|title=Devotions and popular piety bring faith into everyday life|website=CatholicPhilly|publisher=Catholic News Service|date=October 13, 2017}}</ref>

{{quote|Popular piety "...manifests a thirst for God which only the simple and poor can know. It makes people capable of generosity and sacrifice even to the point of heroism, when it is a question of manifesting belief. It involves an acute awareness of profound attributes of God: fatherhood, providence, loving and constant presence. It engenders interior attitudes rarely observed to the same degree elsewhere: patience, the sense of the cross in daily life, detachment, openness to others, devotion. By reason of these aspects, we readily call it "popular piety," that is, religion of the people, rather than religiosity.|[[Pope Paul VI]]<ref>{{citation|author=[[Pope Paul VI]]|title=Evangelii nuntiandi|date=December 8, 1975|at=§48|publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>}}

{{quote|They are the manifestation of a theological life nourished by the working of the Holy Spirit who has been poured into our hearts (cf. {{Bibleverse|Romans|5:5}}).|[[Pope Francis]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html#The_evangelizing_power_of_popular_piety|author=[[Pope Francis]]|date=November 24, 2013|title=Evangelii gaudium|at=§125|publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>}}

While acknowledging that Anglican piety took the forms of more frequent communion and liturgical observances and customs, [[Ronald Williams (bishop)|Bishop Ronald Williams]] spoke for increased reading of the Bible.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://churchsociety.org/docs/churchman/074/Cman_074_2_Williams.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804122109/https://churchsociety.org/docs/churchman/074/Cman_074_2_Williams.pdf|archive-date=2019-08-04|last=Williams|first=Ronald|title=The Bible and Anglican Piety|journal=The Churchman|year=1960|page=91}}</ref>{{Importance inline|reason=|date=September 2023}}

In the Methodist Church, works of piety are a means of grace. They can be personal, such as reading, prayer, and meditation; or communal, such as sharing in the sacraments or Bible study.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.umc.org/en/content/the-wesleyan-means-of-grace|title=The Wesleyan Means of Grace|website=United Methodist Church}}</ref> For Presbyterians, piety refers to a whole realm of practices—such as worship, prayer, singing, and service—that help shape and guide the way one's reverence and love for God are expressed; and "the duty of the Christian to live a life of piety in accordance with God’s moral law".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/presbyterian-theology/|last=Pipa|first=Joseph|title=Presbyterian Theology|website=The Gospel Coalition}}</ref>

The veneration of sacred images belongs to the nature of Catholic piety, with the understanding that "the honour rendered to the image is directed to the person represented".{{r|Directory|at=§18}}

== See also ==
*[[Affective piety]]
*[[Plato]]'s dialogue [[Euthyphro]], in which Socrates seeks a definition of piety
*[[Hasid]] (the Hebrew term)
*[[Islamic views on piety]]
*[[Pietism]] in the Lutheran Church

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.ncregister.com/news/saints-teach-us-piety-by-their-example|last=Shea|first=Mark|title=Saints Teach Us Piety by Their Example|website=National Catholic Register|date=September 15, 2013}}

{{Virtues}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ethical principles]]
[[Category:Personality traits]]
[[Category:Religious practices]]
[[Category:Spirituality]]
[[Category:Virtue]]