Spiritualism  Origins,  History,  Development  

Origins:  New  York  Folklore  •  The  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow  by  

Washington  Irving  1820  (Ichabod  Crane,  Headless  Horseman,  The  Wild  Huntsman  folkloric  themes,  etc.)  

•  RevoluNonary  War  soldiers  (approx.  75,000  deaths)  

•  Hitchhiker  ghosts  •  Murdered  Peddlers  •  Memoirs  of  the  Wesley  Family  

(1823)  –  poltergeist  phenomenon  in  John  Wesley’s  home  (founder  of  Methodism)  

Origins:  Spirit  CommunicaNon  

•  John  &  Margaret  Fox,  daughters  Kate  &  Maggie  Fox  

•  Methodist  •  “Second  sight”  •  Hydesville,  New  York  •  March  31,  1848  •  “Mr  Spli]oot,  do  as  I  do”  •  Yes/no  quesNons;  alphabet  

raps  •  Charles  Rosna,  John  Bell  •  Leah  Fox  Fish  

Origins:  Reform  •  Amy  (1802-­‐1889)  and  Isaac  Post  (1798-­‐1872)  –  Society  of  Friends  (Quakers)  

•  Women’s  Rights  •  AboliNonism  

–  The  Post’s  home  in  Rochester,  NY  was  a  stop  in  the  underground  railroad  that  got  runaway  slaves  out  of  the  US  into  Canada  

•  Among  the  very  first  converts  to  Spiritualism  as  a  religion  

Origins:  Philosophy  •  Andrew  Jackson  Davis  (1826-­‐1910)  

•  Poughkeepsie  Seer  •  Mesmerism  •  Healing  •  Harmonial  Philosophy  

– Nature,  Reason,  IntuiNon  (rejecNon  of  revelaNon,  church  authority,  etc.  as  sources  of  knowledge)  

The  Spirit  Circle  •  First  account,  June  1848  •  Rev.  Lemuel  Clark  •  Mr.  &  Mrs  Granger  •  Harriet  (deceased)  •  Lizzie  Fish  (Leah’s  daughter)  

•  Table-­‐tapping  •  Ghostly  music  (piano)  •  Raps,  taps,  knocks  •  Sawing  sounds  (coffin  –  foretelling  of  death?)  

Mediumship  •  By  1851,  mediums  pracNced:  

–  Physical  Mediumship:    •  apports,    •  automaNc  wriNng,  •   spirit  photography,  •   electrical  phenomena,  •   fire  immunity,    •  levitaNon,    •  magneNc  phenomena,  

materializaNon,    •  psycho-­‐physiological  phenomena  

(shrinking/  elongaNon  of  body,  sNgmata,  trance,  ectoplasm),  

•  telekinesis  –  Mental  Mediumship:  

•  clairvoyance,  •   clairaudience,    •  healing,    •  premoniNon,    •  psychometry,  •   telepathy,    •  glossolalia  

Books  and  Spiritualist  Newsleners  •  Isaac  Post,  “Voices  from  the  Spirit  

World”  1851  –  followed  by  literally  thousands  of  other  publicaNons.  

•  Shekinah  (1851)  •  Spiritual  Telegraph  (1852)  –  first  

menNon  of  the  words  “Spiritualism”  and  “Spiritualists”  

•  The  Banner  of  Light  (1857-­‐1910)  •  Trance-­‐inspired  lectures,  

editorials,  leners  to  the  editor,  adverNsments  by/for  mediums,  alternaNve  healing,  social  acNvism,  etc.  

Spiritualist  Camps  •  Camp  Chesterfield,  Indiana  (1886)  

•  Lily  Dale,  NY  (1879)  •  Cassadaga,  Florida  (1895)  

•  Camp  Wonewoc,  Wisconsin  (1901)  

•  Summer  season,  lectures,  healing,  mediumship,  classes,  etc.  

Spiritualist  OrganizaNons  •  Spiritualist  AssociaNon  of  Great  Britain  (1872)  

•  InternaNonal  Spiritualist  FederaNon  (1888)  –  Arthur  Conan  Doyle  

•  NaNonal  Spiritualist  AssociaNon  of  Churches  (1893)  

•  Spiritualist  NaNonal  Union  (1902)  

Cora  Hatch,  medium  and  co-­‐founder  of  NSAC)  

Spiritualist  Doctrine  •  Key principles (National Spiritualist Association of Churches) •  We  believe  in  Infinite  Intelligence.  •  We  believe  that  the  phenomena  of  Nature,  both  physical  and  spiritual,  are  the  expression  

of  Infinite  Intelligence.  •  We  affirm  that  a  correct  understanding  of  such  expression  and  living  in  accordance  

therewith,  consNtute  true  religion.  •  We  affirm  that  the  existence  and  personal  idenNty  of  the  individual  conNnue  aper  the  

change  called  death.  •  We  affirm  that  communicaNon  with  the  so-­‐called  dead  is  a  fact,  scienNfically  proven  by  

the  phenomena  of  Spiritualism.  •  We  believe  that  the  highest  morality  is  contained  in  the  Golden  Rule:  "Do  unto  others  as  

you  would  have  them  do  unto  you."  •  We  affirm  the  moral  responsibility  of  individuals,  and  that  we  make  our  own  happiness  or  

unhappiness  as  we  obey  or  disobey  Nature’s  physical  and  spiritual  laws.  •  We  affirm  that  the  doorway  to  reformaNon  is  never  closed  against  any  soul  here  or  

hereaper.  •  We  affirm  that  the  precepts  of  Prophecy  and  Healing  are  Divine  anributes  proven  through  

Mediumship.  

Spiritualist  doctrine  –  God  as  creaNve  force,  

but  not  ChrisNan  God    –  OpNmisNc  doctrine  

of  spiritual  progress  (progress  conNnues  aper  death;  no  hell)  

–  No  original  sin  (opNmisNc  doctrine  of  human  nature  

–  No  external  (subsNtuNonary)  salvaNon  –  you  are  responsible  for  your  own  spiritual  state  

Ghost  orbs  at  “inspiraNon  stump”  in  Lily  Dale,  NY  

Controversial  issues  in  Spiritualism  

•  Nature  of  God  •  ChrisNanity  •  ReincarnaNon  •  Physical  mediumship  •  Psychic  surgery  •  UFOs  •  Animal  Spirits