Popular piety

Popular piety in Christianity is an expression of faith which avails of certain cultural elements proper to a specific environment which is capable of interpreting and questioning in a lively and effective manner the sensibilities of those who live in that same environment. Examples covered in this article are drawn from Roman Catholic and Lutheran practice.

The forms of popular piety lived out in the Roman Catholic Church are explained in the Directory on Popular piety and the liturgy issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church.

In the Lutheran Churches, popular piety is expressed through the reception of the sacraments, the displaying of sacred art, the signing of hymnody, prayer, Bible study and devotions.

Popular piety may be defined as those diverse extra-liturgical cultic expressions of a private or community nature which, in the context of the Christian faith, are inspired predominantly by forms deriving from a particular nation or people or from their culture. It frequently finds expression in those external practices of piety commonly referred to as "devotions". These are often characterized by: an appeal to the emotions, a simplicity of form which makes them accessible, a communal aspect, or a traditional connection to some venerated person.

During the Middle Ages, the public functions of the Church and the popular devotions of the people were intimately connected. The laity assisted at the prayer of the Liturgy of the hours, the sacrifice of the Mass, the numerous processions, and were quite familiar with the liturgy. Those few religious practices outside of official services, e.g. the Rosary (a substitute for the 150 Psalms) originated in the liturgy.

Popular piety is an expression of the profound religious feeling of people at a given moment in space and time. The various sets of "Little Offices" (e.g. of the Passion or of the Blessed Trinity), popular from the thirteenth to sixteenth century are now virtually unknown except to museum archivists.

In the Lutheran tradition, popular piety is expressed through the reception of the sacraments, the displaying of sacred art, the signing of hymnody, prayer, Bible study and devotions.

At the beginning of the modern period, "the primacy accorded to contemplation, the importance attributed to subjectivity and a certain ascetical pragmatism exalting human endeavour ensured that Liturgy no longer appeared as the primary source of the Christian life in the eyes of men and women advanced in the spiritual life." The reform of the Roman liturgy after the Council of Trent brought advantages such as ensuring that the doctrinal content reflected the faith in its purity, but its new fixity made it seem the reserve of the clergy and reinforced a division between liturgy and popular piety.