History of Spiritism: Difference between revisions

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	Spiritism was founded by ] in France in the middle of the ], influenced by ], the ] and the popularity of ] ] in his time. He did not claim that his ] was entirely new, but conceded that it was based on notions known to mankind since the greatest antiquity. This claim, and the nature of the revelation on which he based his work, caused a great deal of controversy between Spiritism and other religions.

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	=="Ancient Spiritism"==
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	] and other phenomena studied by Spiritism were not "recent". They had manifested themselves in man's ] and are closely related to ]. Most other religions also contain them to some degree. The ] worship of the Saints, for instance, is likened to the veneration of the ''Enlightened Spirits'' in Spiritism and both are related to ], which is found all over the world, being present in religions like ], ], ] and African tribal religions.
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	In ] it was believed that the dead inhabited ] and that it was possible to reach them, either by mediumship or by a type of ]. ] and ] are two characters who went to the Hades eventually. In the ], ] and Ulysses also used a bloody sacrifice to summon the souls of the dead.

	The ]s were famously afraid of ]s and ]s and their superstitions formed the bases for most of European ] and ] during the ], added with significant
	] elements.

	Spiritists believe that many stories told in Greco-Roman ] are better explained by the intervention of Spirits.

	Spiritist phenomena were also present in other places as well. The ban on the ] of spirits found in the ] is, for instance, solid evidence that it was extensively practiced among the ]s and the manifestation of the ] at ] is explained by Spiritism as a mass manifestation of ]. The life of ] is moreover filled with circumstances that fit well with the ].

	=="Mediaeval Spiritism"==

	In the ] it was believed that the dead could eventually come back and haunt persons or places (this being the origin of the legends of ]s and ]s). However, such phenomena were seen as ] in nature and the ] would eventually try to enforce a strict control over them, quoting the ] ban. People displayind any signs of ] were ] or executed by the ], especially during the ] crazes.

	By the time of ] popular belief in ghosts was widespread in ], and he used them as plot devices in several of his works, such as ], ] and ] and a lot of other such tales flourished then.

	==Shamanism==

	Asian ]s have claimed to have fully accomplished the ability to communicate with the dead and the gods and served as intermediates between them and the living people. ] ] have also claimed the same ability. However, Kardec either was not fully aware of these religions or merely disregarded them as unimportant (a product of his time, he was strictly ] to the point of not giving attention to ], a vastly more ancient religion that also features a prominent role for ]).

	==Spiritism and Christianity==
	Christianity has traditionally been critical of Spiritism, mostly because ] clearly forbade the ] people all forms of communication with the dead (Deut. 18: 10-14). Some Christians hold that the supposed spirits of the dead are actually ]s, while others claim that the clear rendering of scripture teaches they are demons (while some equate demons with fallen angels).

	Most of the Christian opposition to Spiritism is found among ] Christians, who believe salvation is a free gift of God, which we are unworthy of. Contrary to this, Spiritism states that all spirits will eventually attain full illumination. ]s also reject spiritism following the ] on the subject of the dead. Reincarnation is also a subject for further criticism among many Christian denominations, since several passages in the ] seems incompatible with it (most notably Hb. 9:27).

	The ] clearly forbids its members to take part in mediunic sessions, or any type of reunion concerning the evocation or the communication of spirits. Most religions have a similar position; however, depending on the country, there seems to be more tolerance. This is especially observable in ].

	==Spiritism in the XX Century==

	After the death of ] Spiritism continued to spread and was internationally famous. Thousands of ]s were founded throughout ], ] and, especially, ]. This situation continued until the ].

	By the beginning of the XX century, however, Spiritism started to lose its newly-gained popularity as the result of a series of factors:

	* reaction of traditional religions
	* death of famous converts, like ], ] and ]
	* repression by ], which did not favour Spiritism's strong support for ]
	* development of scientific explanations for some phenomena which were claimed by Spiritism (like the explanation of ] by ])
	* scientific discoveries that proved that central tenets of the doctrine were wrong (electricity is not a "fluid", "animal magnetism" does not exist, etc.)

	In Brazil, on the other hand, none of the above factors was enough to weaken the spreading of the doctrine. ] was losing popular support, the government did not oppose Spiritism, most people were not aware of scientific discoveries and the religion had not spread only among the upper classes.

	Thanks to the works of dedicate members, like , the doctrine remained strong and took roots that allowed it to still exist today, while it has nearly disappeared almost everywhere else.

	==Syncretic Religions==

	Kardec's ] and Anglo-American ] were actually more or less the same thing and existed simultaneously for a long time, each aware of the other and often very close. They were both middle to upper-class phenomena, related to anti-clericalism and ] and may be seen as an intermediate step for those who wished to relinquish their relationships with religions they saw as ] or ] but did not want to become ]s. It waned in popularity as ] found more acceptance and was later banned in most of Europe by ].

	The doctrine would, however, find elsewhere safe ground to develop. In Brazil, as early as ] hundreds of ]s were to be found throughout the country. Spiritism reached its peak of popularity in the 1970s but lost it in the 1990s, being now apparently about to recover.

	] religions, which were banned in Brazil until ], quickly noticed Spiritism and claimed the name for themselves, as a disguise, as Spiritism was a "white man's" religion that was tolerated, while ], ], ] and others were not. Due to this misuse of the term, there persists a confusion regarding the religion, which is often resolved by referring to Spiritism as "Kardecism" or "Kardecist Spiritism."

	==See also==

	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]

	]

Latest revision as of 21:35, 23 February 2024

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