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Spiritualism (movement)

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Spiritualism first appeared in the 1840s in the Burned-Over District of upstate New York where earlier religious movements such as Millerism (Seventh Day Adventists) and Mormonism had emerged during the Second Great Awakening. It was an environment in which many people felt that direct communication with God or angels was possible, and in which many people believed in a beneficent God and felt uncomfortable with Calvinist notions that God would behave harshly--for example, that God would condemn unbaptized infants to an eternity in hell (Carroll 1997).

In this environment the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) and the teachings of Franz Mesmer (1734-1815) provided an example for those seeking direct personal knowledge of the after-life (Carroll 1997). Swedenborg, who in trance states would commune with spirits, described in his voluminous writings the structure of the spirit world. Two features of his view particularly resonated with the early Spiritualists: first, that there was not a single hell and a single heaven, but rather a series of spheres through which a spirit would progress as it it developed; second, that spirits mediated between God and humans, so that human contact with the divine was through the spirits of deceased humans.

Mesmer did not contribute religious beliefs, but he contributed a technique, latter known as "hypnotism," that could induce trances and cause subjects to report contact with spiritual beings. There was a great deal of showmanship in Mesmerism, and the practitioners who lectured in mid-nineteenth century America sought to entertain audiences as well as demonstrate a method for personal contact with the divine.

Perhaps the best known of those who combined Swedenborg and Mesmer in a peculiarly American synthesis is Andrew Jackson Davis who called his system the Harmonial Philosophy. His 1847 book The Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations, and a Voice to Mankind, dictated to a friend while in trance, eventually became the nearest thing to a canonical work in a Spiritualist movement whose extreme individualism precluded the development of a single coherent worldview (Carroll 1997; Braude 2001).

Many of the early participants in Spiritualism were radical Quakers and others caught up in the reforming movement of the mid-nineteenth century. These reformers were uncomfortable with established churches because those churches did little to fight slavery and even less to advance women's rights. Women were particularly attracted to the movement, because it gave them important roles as mediums and trance speakers. In fact Spiritualism provided one of the first forums in which American women could address mixed public audiences (Braude 2001).

Spiritualists often set March 31, 1848 as the beginning of their movement. On that date, Catherine and Margaretta Fox , of Hydesville, New York, reported that they had made contact with the spirit of a murdered peddler. What made this an extraordinary event was that the spirit communicated through audible rapping noises, rather than simply appearing to a person in a trance. The evidence of the senses appealed to practical Americans, and the Fox sisters became a sensation. In the following years, showmanship became an increasingly important part of Spiritualism, and the visible, audible, and tangible evidence of spirits escalated as mediums competed for paying audiences. Fraud was certainly widespread, as independent investigating commissions repeatedly established, most notably the 1887 report of the Seybert Commission . But the appeal of spiritualism was also strong. The direct personal experience of higher worlds appealed to the new scientific animus, attracting well-known persons such as Alfred Russell Wallace, the evolutionary biologist, and Arthur Conan Doyle, the author. The movement obviously appealed strongly to people grieving the death of a loved one, but it also appealed strongly to reformers, who found that the spirits were in favor of such causes-de-jour as equal rights (Braude 2001).

The movement quickly spread throughout the world, though in only the United Kingdom did it become as widespread as in the United States (Britten 1884). By 1853, invitations to tea among the prosperous and fashionable often included Table-Turning, a type of séance in which spirits would communicate with people seated around a table by tilting and rotating the table. One important convert was Allan Kardec (1804-1869), a French academic who wrote a number of books that initiated a faith today called Spiritism by numerous followers, particularly in Brazil.

American Spiritualists would meet in private homes for séances, at lecture halls for trance lectures, at summer camps attended by thousands, and at state or national conventions. The movement was extremely individualistic, with each Spiritualist relying on her own experiences and reading to discern the nature of the after-life. Organization was therefore slow to appear, and when it did it was resisted by mediums and trance lecturers. Most Spiritualists were content to attend Christian churches, and Unitarian and particularly Universalist churches contained many Spiritualists. As the movement began to fade, partly through the bad publicity of exposed fraud, partly through the appeal of similar religious movements such as Christian Science, the Spiritualist Church was organized, and this church can claim to be the main vestige of the movement left today (Carroll 1997; Braude 2001).

Characteristic Beliefs

Spiritualism may refer to a variety of modern religious ideologies, primarily active in the United States and Europe. Central tenets of Spiritualist liturgy and dogma are the beliefs and practices of mediumship which purport to be evidence of the continued existence of an individual's spirit or soul after death. Spiritualism as practiced today is often described as Christian due to an essentially Christian moral system, a perceived belief in the Judeo-Christian God, and liturgical practices such as Sunday services and the singing of hymns.

Nevertheless, Spiritualist beliefs are not orthodox Christian, and many people from other traditions and religions take the title Spiritualist. There are many Spiritualist Churches that are non-denominational and welcome anyone from any religion. Spiritualism also draws from the spiritual sects of Islam (Sufi), Judaism (Kabbalah) and Buddism. Some Spiritualists follow one distinct religion's practices while others pull elements from any or all of the three religions in addition to Buddism to formulate their beliefs. Some Spiritualists believe in the idea of the universe as the creator, and don't necessarily follow any specific religion.

Despite its extreme heterodoxy, Spiritualism is considered distinct by its contemporary adherents from Spiritism and New Age movements that are otherwise similar in the practice of mediumship as channeling, and the broader concept of spirituality.

Meditation usually plays a large role in Spiritualist practice. Meditation is used to calm the "voices" of modern, hectic life so that the practitioner can better hear his or her guide. Meditation often includes the breathing practices of Buddist meditation (ānāpānasati) and may also include the idea of chakras. The Spiritualist may also focus on the tenets of their chosen religion to help them attain a higher existence. These may include standard prayers (Hail Mary, Shema Yisrael or Salah etc.), focusing on the name of God (Jesus, YHWH or Allah etc.) or other aspects of a holy nature. Like most meditation techniques, imaging (intensely imagining a place or situation) is common. There are specific imagings used to "meet" one's guide, connect with those who have died, receive protection or support from God or simply calming the mind.

Another major belief is that of spiritual guides that help the Spiritualist live a more moral life as well as to make everyday decisions. The guides are not necessarily angels though sometimes angels may be consulted, generally the guide is believed to be someone that was once human at least once and is now on the other side. The Kabbalists use the term maggid which means "teacher."

The Spiritual Church accepts the Seven Principles of Spiritualism, of which principles, full individual liberty of interpretation is reserved to each member.

THE PRINCIPLES ARE:-

1 The Fatherhood of God

2 The Brotherhood of Man

3 The Communiom of Spirits and the Ministry of Angels

4 The Continuous existence of the Human Soul

5 Personal Responsibilty

6 Compensation and retribution here after for all the good and evil deeds done on Earth

7 Eternal progress open to every Human Soul

The related word "Spiritism" has various usages:

  • Kardecist Spiritism — the specific body of spiritualist beliefs, especially significant in Brazil, originated by Allan Kardec
  • a pejorative synonym for Spiritualism used by its opponents such as some Christian churches
  • a largely archaic general term for belief systems involving spirits

References

Braude, Ann. 2001. Radical Spirits: Spiritualism and Women's Rights in Nineteenth-Century America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Britten, Emma Hardinge. 1884. Nineteenth Century Miracles: Spirits and their Work in Every Country of the Earth. New York: William Britten.

Carroll, Bret E. 1997. Spiritualism in Antebellum America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Organizations

Specific Religions and Thought Currents

Theorists and Proponents

Well-known Believers

Critics and Exposers

Exposed Frauds

Miscellaneous

See also

External links

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