Quietism (Molinos / Madame Guyon, historical)
17th-century Catholic mystical movement teaching total passivity of the soul before God. Miguel de Molinos's 'Spiritual Guide' (1675) was condemned by Innocent XI in 1687; Madame Guyon and Fénelon were censured.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — 17th-century Catholic mystical movement condemned 1687; historical reference; influence persists via later mystical and Quaker streams.
Profile facts
In context
Quietism taught that spiritual perfection consisted in total passivity (the 'prayer of quiet'), abandonment of self-effort, and acceptance of every impulse — including spiritual desolation — as God's direct action. Molinos was condemned in 1687 (Coelestis Pastor); the Bossuet-Fénelon controversy ended with Fénelon's submission in 1699. Historical reference; influence persists in Catholic apophatic mysticism, Quaker contemplative practice, and Wesleyan Holiness streams. Risk pattern is the doctrinal disabling of personal moral judgment ('whatever happens is God's will'), which can mask abuse.
Recovery resources
- Tears of Eden — Christian spiritual-abuse-survivor support and clinician referral.
- Recovering Grace — Originally IBLP-focused; archive includes broader fundamentalist Christian high-control material.
- Reclamation Collective — Religious-trauma-aware therapist network; relevant for post-exit identity-rebuilding.
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
See the full curated list at /resources.
This profile is in progress — history, deeper BITE evidence and survivor voices are still being added. Contributions welcome via GitHub.
Timeline
- 1675Molinos publishes the Spiritual Guide
- 1687Condemned by Innocent XI
- 1699Fénelon submits in the Bossuet controversy
Sources
- Miguel de Molinos, 'Guida Spirituale' (1675) search ↗
- Innocent XI, 'Coelestis Pastor' (1687) search ↗
- Ronald Knox, 'Enthusiasm' (1950) search ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗ runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J corrective: Moderate-band (CLCI 15) entry upgraded from Mainstream-comparator lighter palette to Christian high-control palette — Batch J's clci<21 fallthrough was too lean for the documented control vector of this category.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Mainstream-comparator lighter.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
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