Pietism & Political Abstention

The Methodists have (some of) their roots in various pietistic movements. If I'm keeping my denominational history straight I believe Pietistic movements generally had elements of political abstention. They were more concerned with the private (and perhaps familial) search for holiness and closeness with God. The movements tended to be isolationist in that they were not focused on reforming the world; rather, they focused on reforming the individual. As such, Pietists rarely sought political office or participated much in social reform outside of their community. If this is correct, does this tendency help to explain the shift Methodist made in the 19th century to "not being involved in politics" and separating themselves from divisive social concerns? Our readings seem to have pointed to this shift as largely a pragmatic one (you can't preach the gospel where you can't go), however, I'm wondering if this was an underlying disposition in Methodism based on its pietistic roots.