The Enduring Force of Spiritualism

By Rosemary Ellen Guiley

In the 19th century, fascination with spirit communications and proof of survival after death created one of the most colorful social and religious movements of modern times: Spiritualism.

Spiritualism did not begin as a religion, but became one, appearing at a time of interest in bringing science and religion together. Scientists, scholars, mediums, stage performers and charlatans vied for credibility. Ultimately, fraudulent mediums and the inability of science to validate the claims of Spiritualism led to its decline, but not its death. It remains a vigorous religion around the world, especially in Britain, the United States, and in Latin America, where it also gave birth to an offshoot,Spiritism. The official birth of Spiritualism is considered to be 1848 when the Fox sisters of Hydesville, New York, became famous for their rapping communications with alleged spirits.

After strange thumpings began in the Fox farmhouse, sisters Katie, Margaret and Leah discovered that they could communicate with whatever was making the sounds. If they rapped, it answered back. They started intelligent communication by rapping out letters of the alphabet. Soon people from all over were coming to witness the marvel. The press seized hold of the story, and the Fox sisters found themselves instant celebrities. They started making public appearances, and even contracted with circus entrepreneur P.T. Barnum for a time.

Over the course of time, their act and personal lives disintegrated, and they even confessed to fraud – but not before providing significant momentum to the budding movement of Spiritualism. The popular interest that made the fame of the Fox sisters possible had earlier been primed by the psychism-based movements of Swedenborgianism and mesmerism. The former, based on the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg’s visionary trance visits to the spirit world, and the latter, based on paranormal phenomena exhibited by mesmerized (hypnotized) subjects, began in Europe in the late 18th century and were imported to America.

who delivered lectures in trance on his “Harmonial Philosophy,” concerning the fate of the soul after death.

Following the sensation of the Fox sisters, mediums and mystics and Spiritualist journals proliferated. The public eagerly devoured almost any daydream as “visions of the spirit world,” and virtually anyone could become a medium and communicate with the dead. Seances became the rage. Early seances were mostly rappings and a few spirit mutterings, but the sessions became more entertaining in order to attract steady and larger audiences. To demonstrate the verity of the spirit world, mediums performed paranormal physical feats, such as levitation, apports and materialization. Trickery was not uncommon, but exposure of fraud did little to dampen early public enthusiasm. Not all seances were public performances; many Spiritualists also conducted private home circles. By 1855, Spiritualism claimed two million followers and was a nascent religion onboth sides of the Atlantic.

Spiritualism held that the soul, in a vehicle that was a duplicate of the physical body, survived death and made an immediate transition to the spirit world. Communication with these souls became possible through mediumship.

Generally, Spiritualism rejected the doctrine of reincarnation (some adherents of reincarnation joined the Spiritist camp). Today, Spiritualists are divided on the question of reincarnation, with some believing in it and others not. From its beginnings as a religion, Spiritualism had an uncomfortable relationship with Christianity. Some Christians denounced it as Satanic, openly harassed Spiritualists, and attempted to have it banned by law. Some Spiritualists believed in breaking away completely from Christianity, while others sought the endorsement of the Christian Church by advocating beliefs in Christian tenets. Mediums (most of whom were women) often were shunned by family and friends.

Spiritualism gave women the opportunity to take on new roles. In Victorian England, this meant freedom from many constraints, since entranced mediums were thought to be controlled by spirits and therefore not directly responsible for their actions. In the United States, this fact coupled with the doctrine of social equality espoused in spirit teachings attracted leaders of the woman suffrage movement. Several important suffragists, including Victoria Woodhull, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Harriet Beecher Stowe, were Spiritualists. Susan B. Anthony was much inclined in that direction as well.

When scientists began investigating Spiritualist phenomena–specifically mediumistic communications and feats–it was hoped that Spiritualist tenets would be proven. Even many of the investigators, who were among the leading scientists of the day, hoped to find scientific proof for the existence of the soul and its immortality. However, scientific proof was–and remains–elusive. What scientists did uncover was a great deal of trickery on the part of many mediums, especially those who claimed to materialize spirits. Systematic investigations began as early as the 1850s but did not become well organized until 1882, when the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) was founded in London. Although the SPR was soon followed by an American branch, the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR), which eventually became independent, the more extensive research went on in England rather than in the American birthplace of Spiritualism.

Psychical researchers encountered some of the same prejudices as did mediums, and many saw their academic and scientific careers suffer because of criticism and ostracism from their peers. By the early 20th century, Spiritualism was ended as a widespread, cohesive movement. It never became sufficiently organized to coalesce; dissension, internal politics and the exposes of fraud took their toll. Public interest also began to wane when science was not quickly forthcoming with proof of Spiritualist tenets. World War I brought thousands of bereaved back into seances. However, the heyday of the physical medium was at an end by 1920. Interest in Spiritualism continued on a smaller and more quiet scale on both sides of the Atlantic and elsewhere in the world. In the 1930s, psychical research left from the seance circle and moved into the laboratory.

Although scientists were unable to prove the existence and survival of the soul, the early psychical researchers did much to establish that paranormal phenomena do occur, and also made great contributions to an understanding of consciousness. Modern Spiritualist churches still thrive round the world. Many are modeled on Protestant churches, but without an organized ministry. Emphasis is given to spiritual healing (laying on of hands, energy transfers and prayer) and mental mediumship; a few mediums still perform physical feats.

Mental mediumship can include trance messages relayed from spirits to the congregation, and trance delivering of sermons. Some Spiritualists work with spirits of the dead, while others espouse contact with highly evolved discarnate beings that is more characteristic of channeling. Spiritualists consider their religion to be also a science; many say that Spiritualism has scientifically proved spiritual phenomena. The two largest Spiritualist organizations in the world are in Britain: the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain and the Spiritualist’s National Union.

Rosemary Ellen Guiley is one of the leading experts on the paranormal, with 31 published books on a wide range of topics. This article is adapted from her Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, published by Facts On File. for more information about rosemary and her books, visit her website, www.visionaryliving.com.

Thank you to Rosemary for allowing the publication of this article.

All articles written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley are copyright.