Quietism is the name traditionally given to a group of seventeenth-century Catholic mystical teachings and controversies associated especially with Miguel de Molinos, François Malaval, Madame Guyon, and, more loosely, François Fénelon. The term was used primarily by opponents to describe forms of contemplative spirituality that appeared to emphasize interior passivity, annihilation of self-will, abandonment to God, and the superiority of contemplative prayer over active devotional practice.