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Spiritism is a philosophical doctrine established in France in the mid 19th Century by the French educator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail, under the pseudonym Allan Kardec. The term was coined by him as the specific name of the doctrine he was about to publish but, given the fact that the word was created from roots taken from the common language, it was soon incorporated into normal use and has been used to name other doctrines as well, though the original Spiritists protest against this usage. This article discusses Spritism as the religious system derived from the writings of Kardec.

Context

Spiritism begins with the dialogs established between Kardec and what he (and many researchers at that time) believed to be incorporeal beings — souls of deceased people. With his solid humanistic background, once he became convinced of the spiritual explanation for the phenomena that he investigated, between 1855 and 1856, he began looking for a way to turn the survival of the human soul (and communication with it) into something useful for humankind, in the social and ethical fields. Moreover, he thought that religions were becoming unable to lead men to effective moral improvements, due to their failure as human institutions. Science, concomitantly, grew wider than ever, bringing numerous direct benefits to man. Both factors together contributed to an increasing disbelief in human spirituality at all levels of European societies. Kardec saw in it an undesirable social tendency that should be reverted by a new paradigm for understanding reality. Its main characteristics would be:

  • Providing access to knowledge for all people, instead of the "Hermetic" way philosophical and scientific knowledge had been produced;

  • Human relationship with the Spiritual without any institutional mediation. A natural spirituality would be enough and more appropriate for human realisation.

Many well educated people from Europe and the United States gradually embraced Spiritism as a logical explanation of reality, including themes related to transcendence, such as God and afterlife. Thousands of Spiritist societies were created on both continents, and the Spiritist principles were so much disseminated in some countries that Spiritism was considered for inclusion in regular school and college programmes in Europe. However, with the ascension of totalitarian regimes in many European nations, a degree of repression took hold across the whole continent regarding Spiritisim (and many other philosophical and political movements). The World Wars, in the first half of 20th century, were the final hit for the Spiritist movement in most of Europe. In South America, however, the work of a few dedicated preachers had managed to achieve a solid foundation, although Spiritism has since changed into a considerably more religious doctrine in these new lands. Such relocation occurred most successfully in Brazil, where more than 4 million people declare themselves "Kardecist Spiritists", according to the last IBGE census data, making Brazil the largest Spiritist country in the world. Spiritism has influenced Brazilian syncretisms like Umbanda, Christian Rationalism, Union of the Vegetal and Valley of Dawn.

Spiritism is not to be confused with Spiritualism. Its use with that meaning is regarded as pejorative by both Spiritualists and Spiritists. Uncapitalised, the word, in English, is an obsolete term for animism and other religious practices involving the invocation of spiritual beings, including shamanism.

Spiritism between Science and Religion

The term Kardecist Spiritism is often used, especially in statistics regarding religion, to differentiate the spiritist religion created from Spiritism proper (as established by Kardec) and other types of practices and beliefs with similar naming. It is a quite stable religious denomination, especially in Brazil. Other religions and cults claiming the name are often smaller, "fringe" religious groups wishing to identify themselves with a more traditional and acceptable religion.

According to its adepts, Spiritism is a collection of principles and laws based directly on the teachings of Jesus, and on further revelation received from Enlightened Spirits. These spiritists believe that their doctrine is (or comes from) the Consoler that was promised to mankind by Jesus, to "reestablish all things in their truer meaning". Kardecist Spiritism not only claims to be a logical successor for Christianity, but also to be a truer form of Christianity, purified from unnecessary elaborations and additions. Unlike previous doctrines which had been filtered by the imperfections of the flesh, the teachings collected in his books would be closer to the truth God commanded His messengers (Enlightened Spirits) to transmit to mankind. They embrace all Christian ramifications, like a single Religion, derived from the word of Jesus, needing a new revelation, which is made on the moment by spirits. Therefore, the rituals and the organisation are taken from whatever religion one follows, though what really matters are not the exterior ritual and practices but the moving spirit behind them. Spiritism seems to have been established as an independent religion when its active participants were (as they still often are) expelled from their religions. Still, they felt the need for a place to practice some kind of worship and religious work.

On the other hand, there are spiritists who argue that Spiritism is a science, despite the firm belief on the part of most scientists that Spiritism and Science are mutually exclusive. Some Spiritists even accept skepticism as an acceptable approach to the phenomenon, arguing that one should only become a Spiritist after being personally convinced.

Spiritists claim that "Spiritism" should also be used to name the science studying the survival of the human soul and communication with it.

Present-day Spiritists see a fundamental difference between "Scientific Spiritism" (the study of spiritual phenomena) and "Kardecist Spiritism" (the religious and philosophical practice derived from them). The two aspects of the doctrine are seen as complementary.

Precursors

Developments leading directly to Kardec's research were the famous Fox sisters and the phenomenon of the Talking boards. The hype of Mesmerism also contributed to the early Spiritist practice.

Fox Sisters

Sisters Catherine (1838–92), Leah (1814–90) and Margaret (1836–93) Fox played an important role in the creation of Spiritualism. The daughters of David and Margaret Fox, they were residents of Hydesville, New York. In 1848, the family began to hear unexplained rapping sounds. Kate and Margaret conducted channeling sessions in an attempt to contact the presumed spiritual entity creating the sounds, and claimed contact with the spirit of a peddler who was allegedly murdered and buried beneath the house. A skeleton later found in the basement seemed to confirm this. The Fox girls became instant celebrities. They demonstrated their communication with the spirit by using taps and knocks, automatic writing, and later even voice communication, as the spirit took control of one of the girls.

Skeptics suspected this was nothing but clever deception and fraud. Indeed, sister Margaret eventually confessed to using her toe-joints to produce the sound. And although she later recanted this confession, both her and her sister Catherine were widely considered discredited, and died in poverty. Nonetheless, belief in the ability to communicate with the dead grew rapidly, becoming a religious movement called Spiritualism, and contributing greatly to Kardec's ideas.

Talking Boards

Just after the news of the Fox affair came to France, people became even more interested in what was sometimes termed the "Spiritual Telegraph". In the beginning, a table spun with the "energy" from the spirits present by means of human channelling (hence the term medium). But, as the process was too slow and cumbersome, a new one was devised, supposedly from a suggestion by the spirits themselves: the talking board.

Early examples of talking boards were baskets attached to a pointy object that spun under the hands of the mediums, to point at letters printed on cards scattered around, or engraved on, the table. Such devices were called corbeille à bec ("basket with a beak"). The pointy object was usually a pencil.

Talking boards were tricky to set up and to operate. A typical séance using a talking board saw people sitting at a round table, feet resting on the chairs' supports and hands on the table top or, later, on the talking board itself. The energy channeled from the spirits through their hands made the board spin around and find letters which, once written down by a scribe, would form intelligible words, phrases, sentences. The system was an early, and less effective, precursor of the Ouija boards that later became so popular.

Allan Kardec first became interested in Spiritism when he learned of the Fox sisters, but his first contact with what would become the doctrine was by means of talking boards. Some of the earlier parts of his Spirits' Book were channelled this way.

Mesmerism

Spiritism incorporated early, and has kept, some practices inspired or directly taken from Mesmerism. Among them, the healing touch, still in Europe, and the "energization" of water to be used as a ritual placebo (only in Brazilian Spiritism).

An Overview

Basic Books

The basic doctrine of Spiritism (a.k.a. "the Codification") is defined in five books written and published by Allan Kardec, containing reflections born of his dialogs with the so-called spirits, as well as dozens of other texts compared and analyzed by him.

  1. The Spirits' Book — Defines the guidelines of the doctrine, covering points like God, Spirit, Universe, Man, Society, Culture, Morals and Religion.
  2. The Book on Mediums — Details the "mechanics" of the spiritual world, the processes involved in channeling spirits, techniques to be developed by would-be mediums, etc.
  3. The Gospel According to Spiritism — Comments on the Gospels, highlighting passages that, according to Kardec, would show the ethical fundamentals shared by all religious and philosophical systems. This may be the first religious book to acknowledge the existence of life elsewhere in the Universe, based on Jesus' saying "The houses in the realm of my father are many" (John, 14, 1-3).
  4. Heaven and Hell — A didactic series of interviews with spirits of deceased people intending to establish a correlation between the lives they lead and their conditions in the beyond.
  5. The Genesis According to Spiritism — Tries to reconcile religion and science, dealing with the three major points of friction between the two: the origin of the universe (and of life, as a consequence) and the concepts of miracle and premonition.

Despite being published from 1857 to 1868, these books remain as the core of the Spiritist doctrine and all further elaboration of it is based on them.

Kardec also wrote a brief introductory pamphlet (What is Spiritism?) and the Spiritist Magazine (Revue Spirite), where he was the most frequent collaborator. His essays and articles would be posthumously collected into the aptly-named tome Posthumous Works.

Doctrine

The five chief points of the doctrine are:

  1. There is a God, defined as "The Supreme Intelligence and Primary Cause of everything";
  2. There are Spirits, all of whom are created simple and ignorant, but owning the power to gradually perfect themselves;
  3. The natural method of this perfection process is Reincarnation, through which the Spirit faces countless different situations, problems and obstacles, and needs to learn how to deal with them;
  4. As part of Nature, Spirits can naturally communicate with living people, as well as interfere in their lives;
  5. Many planets in the universe are inhabited.

The central tenet of Spiritist Doctrine is the belief in spiritual life. The spirit is eternal, and evolves through a series of incarnations in the material world. The true life is the spiritual one; life in the material world is just a short-termed stage, where the spirit has the opportunity to learn and develop its potentials. Reincarnation is the process where the spirit, once free in the spiritual world, comes back to the world for further learning.

Christ, the greatest moral example for humankind, is deemed to have incarnated here to show us, through his example, the path that we have to take to achieve our own spiritual perfection. The Gospels are reinterpreted in Spiritism; some of the words of Christ or his actions are clarified in the light of the spiritual phenomena (presented as law of nature, and not as something "miraculous"). It's only because of our own imperfection that we can't achieve similar things; as we evolve, we will not only understand better, but we will be able to do similar things, for all spirits are created equal, and are destined for the same end.

Spiritist Doctrine stresses the importance of spiritual evolution. According to this view, we are destined for perfection; there are other planets hosting more advanced lifeforms, and happier societies, where the spirit has the chance to keep evolving both in the moral and intellectual sense. Although not clear from Kardec's works, later writers elaborated on this point further: it seems that we cannot detect more advanced life forms on other planets, as they are living in a slightly different "plane" from ours, in the same way the spiritual plane is superimposed over our own plane. There is no scientific evidence to back this claim, despite attempts to apply concepts from modern physics - quantum theory, multiple universes and so on - to explain it.

The communication between the spiritual world and the material world happens all the time, but to various degrees. Some people barely sense what the spirits tell them, in an entirely instinctive way, while others have greater cognizance of their guidance. The so-called mediums have these natural abilities highly developed, and are able to communicate with the spirits and interact with them by several means: listening, seeing, or writing through spiritual command (also known by Kardecists as psychography). Direct manipulation of physical objects by spirits is also possible; however, for it to happen the spirits need the help (voluntary or not) of mediums with particular abilities for physical effects.

Worship and Prayer

Kardec's works do not establish any rituals or formal practices. Instead, the doctrine suggests that followers adhere to some principles regarded as common to all religions. The religious experience within spiritism is, therefore, largely informal -- except for the "mediunic" meetings (séances).

All practices taking place within the centres are free of charge, adhering to the Gospel principle that we must "Give for free what we receive for free." Attendees may actually be asked for contribution if they become regular, but generally only if they become formal members - which is more or less the same process as enlisting with a political party.

The practice of Spiritism is held without exterior trappings, within the Christian principle that God should be adored in spirit and truth. A Spiritist Centre has no exterior mark of its use, except for a (usually discreet) plate or sign bearing its name (often that of the founder or of a spiritual patron). They do not use icons, idols, crosses, pictures, etc. The presence of any such objects in a place purporting to practice Kardecist Spiritism is sometimes considered the surest proof they are not what they claim to be, as The Spirits' Book clearly states that spirits actually do not have any recognisable form (unless they have disincarnated recently).

There is no ministry within Spiritism; neither does it adopt or use in its meetings or in its practices any of the following: vestments, alcoholic beverages, incense, tobacco, altars, banners, candles, processions, talismans, amulets, sacraments, the making of promises and the paying of penances, horoscopes, fortune telling with cards or sea shells, pyramids, crystals, rituals or any other form of material support. However, Spiritist Centres usually are dedicated buildings, in the sense that they usually must follow some architectural guidelines. People willing to take part in mediunic meetings are often asked not to eat meat or ingest alcohol, coffee or drugs (including tobacco) beforehand, though such is not strictly forbidden.

Spiritism does not impose its principles. It invites all those who are interested in getting to know them to submit its teachings to the test of reason before accepting them. Spiritists believe salvation is achieved by work and that any formal (or informal) religion is valid if it follows the basic commandments of God and helps people endure the hardships of life. Affiliation to Spiritism is, therefore, regarded as an option for those who do not feel their religious needs fulfilled.

Mediumship, which permits the Spirits to communicate with Man, is a gift which effectively everyone has, independent of doctrinal guidance. Fully developed mediumship, however, is a rarer gift that must often be developed. Spiritist Mediumship is only that which is practiced based upon the principles of the Spiritist Doctrine and within Christian morality (generally, it mustn't be done for money, fame or vanity).

There is a strong campaign against abortion, capital punishment and suicide. Spiritists believe abortion is murder and that suicide is an act of ignorance that leads to worsening of the conditions of a future life.

Prayer is deemed to be important to allow oneself to stay in tune with his spiritual friends and protectors. Praying helps to clear the mind of bad feelings and prepares the spirit for higher achievements. The prayer does not need to follow a strict formula, but should come from within the follower, and it should express their true belief in, and dedication to, God. Spiritist prayer is not formulaic, but reflects the person's current state of mind, much like Evangelical prayer. The most frequent subject of prayer is asking for the guidance of God.

Doing charity work is of utmost importance. According to the doctrine, we should be willing to donate not only material resources, but also the better share of our love and care for the less fortunate.

Spiritists are prompted to read a lot. Spiritist Centres usually have libraries and many publishing houses distribute cheap paperback editions of a myriad books in all genres, including literature, science, philosophy, history, poetry, etc. Spiritist authors are often expected to donate their copyright to works of charity or charge low amounts for it (as the purpose of a book is to be read and many people can't afford to buy expensive books).

Mediumship Within Spiritism

The actual practice of Spiritism includes a few activities, whose forms vary widely from place to place. In some cases, more or less elaborate rituals might be involved, despite the lack of explicit doctrinal prescription. In fact, anything that is not explicitly discouraged is lightly tolerated.

All groups carry on séances, which are termed mediunic meetings, and are quite different from the most frequently pictured scene. In the early days people were willing to evoke those with whom they wanted to have contact, but now this practice is strongly discouraged, as there is no real guarantee that the spirit actually is who he purports to be. Instead of evoking, the mediums will stay receptive to any spirit willing to communicate.

"Incorporation" is done for charitable reasons. Such reasons include bringing relief to the family of a recently deceased person, sending away some evil influence that is lurking about someone and, quite usually, helping spirits of people that died an unfortunate or unexpected death and are unaware of their state. Often such meetings include the presence of suffering spirits, blind with pain and full of wrath, rebel spirits that do not want to heed the "rules", or spirits that seek vengeance against those they feel did them wrong. In all cases, the approach is to listen to the spirits' complaints, pray for them, try to instruct them and invite them to come around frequently to share the benefit of friendship.

A mediunic meeting is usually held in a windowless room around a square or rectangular wooden table (round tables are not widely used anymore, but may be found in some places) and consist mostly of evoking or incorporating spirits. Some people (the workers) take seats around the table, with the president at one end. The rest sit on stools or benches close to the walls, usually to merely watch and listen. The meeting is carried on with dim light so that spirits eventually willing to manifest in visible form will not find it too hard (bright light apparently makes materialisation more difficult, as the spirit requires much more of energy to become visible against it).

There is also a "Book of Prayers" where visitors write the names of people (alive or not) they want to send prayer intentions for.

Organisation

Kardecist Spiritism is not always recognised as an actual organized religion because it proposes a rather different approach, as it:

  • does not require membership or regular frequency of visits;
  • tolerates all other religions, if they agree with the basic moral teachings of Jesus;
  • tries not to be opposed to science, instead trying to harmonise with it;
  • does not make use of any formal adoration, except prayer;
  • does not proselytize;
  • emphasises reading and education as fundamental to personal enlightenment;
  • is active in pacifism and internationalism;
  • does not claim to be the only repository of the truth.

Spiritism has no temples: each "Spiritist Centre" is a place where people meet to have lectures on doctrine, share mutual support, receive the Blessing (spiritism), drink "energised" water and (if prepared) to attend to Mediunic Meetings, in which contact is made with the deceased (for the benefit of both them and the living).

The Centres are very active in charity, maintaining free literacy schools, hospitals or clinics (practising "normal" medicine), libraries and addiction recovery clinics. The most recognisable activity carried on by them is, actually, helping the poor by distributing soup, clothes, blankets and school-books. They are also very active in campaigning against abortion, suicide and addictions.

In Brazil, Spiritism is organised nationwide by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation, which is affiliated to the International Spiritist Union, located in Paris, France.

Spiritist Centres (and also the BSF) are also active book publishers.

Spiritism and Religions

Spiritism and Christianity

Christianity has traditionally been critical of Spiritism, mostly because Mosaic Law clearly forbade the Jewish people all forms of communication with the dead (Deut. 18: 10-14). Some Christians hold that the supposed spirits of the dead are actually fallen angels, 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 Evangelical 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. Christian Fundamentalists also reject spiritism following the Mosaic Law on the subject of the dead.

The Catholic Church 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 towards Spiritism. This is especially observable in Brazil.

Spiritism Through History

Mediumship and other phenomena studied by Spiritism weren't created by Kardec, nor are they properly "recent". They have manifest themselves in man's most primitive religions, and are closely related to Shamanism. Most other religions also contain them to some degree. The Catholic worship of the Saints, for instance, is likened to the veneration of the Enlightened Spirits. The manifestation of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost is explained by Spiritism as a mass manifestation of mediumship.

Most Eastern religions (and some ancient Western ones) reserve a central role for the worship or veneration of ancestors. For this reason, Spiritism has found great resistance outside the West.

In Ancient Greece it was believed that the dead inhabited Hades and that it was possible to reach them, either by mediumship or by a type of astral projection. Ulysses and Orpheus are two characters who went to the Hades eventually. In the Iliad, Achilles and Ulysses also used a bloody sacrifice to summon the souls of the dead.

In the Middle Ages, as an influence of the Germanic peoples, it was believed that the dead could eventually come back and haunt persons or places; this being the origin of the legends of ghosts and haunted houses.

By the time of William Shakespeare popular belief in ghosts was widespread in Britain, and he used them as plot devices in several of his works, such as Hamlet, Julius Caesar (play) and Macbeth.

Asian Shamans 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. American Native medicine men have also claimed the same ability.

Syncretic Religions

The name Spiritism was once used by Afro-Brazilian Cults as a disguise, when Brazilian society had a strong prejudice against their religious practices (which were effectively forbidden by law until 1950).

These religions consist basically of the worship of gods of African (Orisha) and Brazilian (Caboclo and Preto Velho) origin, with a varied degree of syncretism, usually with strong Catholic influence. They are: Candomblé, Xambá, Batuque and Umbanda (The name Macumba is deemed as pejorative). Since these entities do manifest in a similar way to that of the Spirits in Spiritism, the association is natural.

Due to the misuse of the term "Spiritism" in the past to designate these cults, there persists a confusion regarding the religion, which is often resolved by referring to Spiritism as "Kardecism" or "Kardecist Spiritism."

References

  • CROOKES, William. Researches on the Phenomena of Spiritualism, Burns, London 1874,.
  • DOYLE, Arthur Conan. The History of Spiritualism. New York: G.H. Doran, Co. 1926. Volume 1 Volume 2. ISBN 1410102432.
  • HESS, David. Spirits and Scientists: Ideology, Spiritism, and Brazilian Culture, Pennsylvania State Univ Press, 1991
  • KARDEC, Allan, The Spirits' Book ISBN 0922729271
  • KARDEC, Allan, Book on Mediums ISBN 0877283826
  • KARDEC, Allan, The Gospel Explained by the Spiritist Doctrine ISBN 0964990768

See also

External links

Spiritism | Spirituality | Philosophical schools and traditions | New religious movements | Religion in Brazil

Espiritisme | Spiritisme | Spiritismus | Πνευματισμός | Spiritismo | Espiritismo | Spiritismi | Spiritisme | Spiritismo | Spiritismo | 交霊術 | Spiritismus | Spiritismu | Spiritisme | Espiritismo | Spiritism | Спиритизм | Spiritism | Spiritism | 通灵术

 

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