Heirs of Pietism in World Christianity III Conference
Pietism has played an important role within World Christianity and has impacted many societies and cultures. In this third Heirs of Pietism conference, we will continue to uncover foundations, pillars, connections, and people that have given expression to Pietist faith and life.
A special emphasis of the 2026 Heirs of Pietism conference will be the influence of German Radical Pietism, including its impact upon the lives and influence of the co-founders, in 1800, of the first indigenous North American denomination of Christianity, the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. Martin Boehm was born November 30, 1725, in Conestoga in the colony of Pennsylvania, and William Otterbein was born June 3, 1726, in Dillenburg, Germany.
Presentations on German Radical Pietism, Otterbein, Boehm, and the Evangelical United Brethren Heritage (including forerunner denominations) are especially encouraged.
Beyond German Radical Pietism and the 300th anniversary celebration, the Heirs of Pietism in World Christianity III conference will feature papers on Pietism during the 17th through 20th centuries in a variety of theological, social, political, and cultural expressions. Papers are invited that examine figures, networks, and organizations that have promoted Pietist theology, practice, and religious values, as are proposals featuring analysis of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, and class in relationship to Pietism. Papers may focus for example, on Brethren, Mennonite, Puritan, Methodist, Baptist, African American, or any of the wide variety of immigrant communities. Also welcome are explorations of theology, preaching, ethics, worship, music, poetical, political, and other articulations of Pietism.
Please send abstracts (250 words) to Dr. Wendy Deichmann (wjdeichmann@united.edu) no later than March 15, 2026.
Hosted by the Center for the Evangelical United Brethren Heritage.
Date:
September 23-25, 2026
Place:
United Theological Seminary
4501 Denlinger Road
Dayton, OH 45426
OR
Virtual
Contact:
Dr. Wendy Deichmann
Director of the Center for Evangelical United Brethren Heritage
wjdeichmann@united.edu
Check back later for registration info!
Wendy J. Deichmann, Ph.D., Professor of History and Theology and Director of the Center for The Evangelical United Brethren Heritage, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH
Scott Kisker, Professor of the History of Christianity and Associate Dean for Academic Programs, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH
Keynote Speaker: J. Steven O’Malley, Ph.D., Professor of Methodist Holiness History and Director of the Center for the Study of World Christian Revitalization Movements at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY – “Herborn and the Origin of the Evangelical United Brethren Heritage”
Klaus Arnold, Ph.D., Director, Global Education and Clergy Development, Church of the Nazarene, Lenexa, KS – “An Ecclesiastical Concept of Nineteenth Century New Pietism in Germany – “Theodor Jellinghaus – Theologian of the Heilignungsbewegung“
Ryan Bianchet, Th.M. Student at Asbury Theological Seminary and Rhetoric and Logic Teacher at Veritas Christian Academy, KY – “A Pietist Reassessment of Johan Amos Comenius, the Father of Modern Education”
Richard E. Clark, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Manchester and Visiting Scholar in Philosophy and Religion, Southwestern College, KS – “Christianity of the Heart Versus Christianity of the Head: An Irenic Comparison of the Founders of Continental Pietism and Arminianism”
Lane E. Davis, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Church History and United Methodist Studies, Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, IN – “‘So Long Disjoined’: Pietism, Methodism, and American Higher Education”
Wendy J. Deichmann, Ph.D., Professor of History and Theology and Director of the Center for The Evangelical United Brethren Heritage, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH – “Who were the Women among the 18th Century Precursors and Founders of the United Brethren in Christ?”
George Fickley, M.Div./MTS Student at United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH and Associate Pastor, First Methodist Church, Warren, PA – “A Search for Certainty: Pietism’s Role in the Birth of a Theology of Justification that is Distinctly Wesleyan”
J. Michael Hoff, Ph.D. Candidate, Regent University, VA – “Overcome by the Power and Presence: A Brief Exploration of John Wesley’s Experience of Primitive Christianity in 1738-39 based on his Letters and Journals“
Scott Holland, Professor Emeritus of Theology, Culture & Theopoetics at Bethany Theological Seminary in partnership with the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, IN – “The Theopoetics of Pietism”
Xavier Johnson, D.Min., Assistant Professor in the Practice of Preaching and Black Church Studies, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH – “To Improve the Ministry, To Improve the People”: Pietism and Education in the Life and Ministry of Daniel Alexander Payne
Denise D. Kettering-Lane, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Brethren Studies at Bethany Theological Seminary and Editor of Brethren Life and Thought – “The Krefeld Connection: Pietists and Immigration to Germantown, Pennsylvania”
Andrew Kinsey, Ph.D Candidate, Durham University, UK – “The Holy Communion Epiclesis of the EUBs: Partaking of the Divine Nature as the Means to Unity”
Laurel Joy Lied, Ph.D., Independent Scholar – “Is the Human Essentially Eternal or Essentially Open? Some Considerations within Pietism in the early 1700s”
Joshua Toepper, Ph.D. Student, NTC-Manchester University and Postgraduate Assistant of the Manchester Wesley Research Centre, UK – “Heaven into My Soul: A Brief Analysis of Pietistic and Female Emphases in the Writings of Mary Bosanquet Fletcher”
Andrew Wood, Ph.D., Archivist, Center for the Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) Heritage, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH – “Flowers in the Family Garden: The EUB Traditions and the Church of the Nazarene, 1908-1968”
October 23
10:00 a.m. | CEUBH Annual Meeting
Noon | Break. Boxed lunches available
by pre-order*
1:30 p.m. | Conference Opening &
Paper Presentations
5:15 p.m. | Break
6:00 p.m. | Dinner at United hosted by
The Center for EUB Heritage
October 24
8:30 a.m. | Coffee & light breakfast
9:00 a.m. | Paper Presentations
12:15 p.m. | Lunch
1:15 p.m. | Paper Presentations
5:30 p.m. | Depart for the evening
October 25
8:00 a.m. | Coffee & light breakfast
8:30 a.m. | Paper Presentations
Noon | Conclusion. Boxed lunches available by pre-order.*
1–2:30 p.m. | Optional tour of Evangelical United Brethren & United Archives
*All meals at United are included in the registration fee except the box lunches
In-person at United
- Individual: $70 ($80 after September 20)
- United Student, Alumnus/a, Faculty or Staff: $50
Streaming/Online
- All: $25
Add-Ons:
- CEUBH Annual Meeting and Wednesday Conference Only: FREE
- CEUBH Annual Meeting and Wednesday Conference Only + Dinner: $10
- Tour of Evangelical United Brethren on Friday: FREE
- Wednesday Box-Lunch: $10
- Friday Box-Lunch: $10
Date:
September 23-25, 2026
Place:
United Theological Seminary
4501 Denlinger Road
Dayton, OH 45426
OR
Virtual
Contact:
Dr. Wendy Deichmann
Director of the Center for Evangelical United Brethren Heritage
wjdeichmann@united.edu
Check back later for registration info!
