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Quietism
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Miguel de Molinos Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de La Motte Guyon
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Miguel de Molinos
Miguel de Molinos Miguel de Molinos, detail of an engraving by Johann Hainzelmann after a portrait.

Quietism

religious doctrine
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History

Quietism, a doctrine of Christian spirituality that, in general, holds that perfection consists in passivity (quiet) of the soul, in the suppression of human effort so that divine action may have full play. Quietistic elements have been discerned in several religious movements, both Christian and non-Christian, through the centuries, but the term is usually identified with the doctrine of Miguel de Molinos, a Spanish priest who became an esteemed spiritual director in Rome during the...

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