[2010 film Depicts the Spirit World]
Spiritualism and Spiritism:
A Comparison
Similarities
Both Spiritism and Spiritualism originated in the 19th century. Each believes that the spirit world of disembodied beings exists and spirits can interact with human beings. The impact may be positive or negative, informative or deceptive.
Both Spiritism and Spiritualism agree that human beings continue to live on after physical death in the world of spirits. Both believe in psychic, or paranormal abilities, like clairvoyance, that make it possible for gifted sensitives, i.e. “psychics,” to see into the spirit world. Both Spiritism and Spiritualism believe that spiritual healing, i.e. healing directed to the spirit of a person through prayer or laying on of hands, has many forms and can have a very positive impact on physical health.
Differences
Spiritualism existed a bit before Spiritism. Consider Spiritism as an offshoot of Spiritualism but with a different mission. Spiritism is distinctly oriented towards supporting spiritual evolution in concrete ways. Spiritism has a coherent philosophy and cogent principles about how humans can live to achieve spiritual growth. Spiritualism, in its origins in the 19th century, was oriented towards exploring the unusual phenomena of spirit contact. It had no cohesive philosophy or principles for living in its origins.
Today, most Spiritualists embrace the ideal of spiritual evolution. However, they still don’t follow one cohesive philosophy. There are many psychics who have written books and displayed their clairvoyant and healing gifts in presentations and private consultations who are the figureheads of Spiritualists. Edgar Cayce is one. Cayce’s clients included a number of famous people such as Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Edison, Irving Berlin, and George Gershwin (1).
Spiritism Today
[Example of Spiritist Magazine highlights Chico Xavier]
A French academic, Allan Kardec, birthed Spiritism in the 1850s in France. He asked 1001 questions to psychic mediums about basic existential questions and then collated the answers in 5 foundational books. Examples of questions answered include : “What is the purpose of life? What happens at death? Do disembodied spirits interact with embodied human beings?” He published the answers that were similar from qualified mediums who channeled information from highly evolved spirits.
In a nutshell Kardec’s books reflect: The purpose of life is spiritual growth, i.e. to become more compassionate and wise. We keep coming back (reincarnating) through successive lifetimes to get closer to that goal. Karma reigns; the Universe is run by cause and effect. Jesus Christ is seen as an excellent example of one person who reached the highest spiritual goal. Some say Spiritism is a path of practical Christianity, describing the details of a path that actively supports spiritual growth. Kardec clarified that not all spirits have positive intent so we must be very careful if we open ourselves to spirit contact. His books explain more.
Spiritism is not a religion; it is a path of life with a philosophy that resonates with many. Over 20-40 million Brazilians use the Spiritist Community Centers when they need help to work with the spiritual aspect of physical illness or psychological issues. or want support to evolve spiritually. They offer spiritual healing (e.g. laying on of hands, spirit release), classes, training of healers, inspiring talks, and fellowship. People of all faiths are welcome. These Centers are in many countries, but most are located in the Philippines and in Brazil. There are 50 Spiritist Psychiatric Hospitals in Brazil that combine spiritual healing with conventional psychiatry.
One of the most famous Spiritists was Chico Xavier (1910-2002), psychic, healer and channeler. He channeled and published more than 400 books–giving all proceeds to charity to support orphanages and those in need. Many of his most popular books have been translated into English and other languages.
Spiritualism Today
[A famous Spiritualist from the USA]
Spiritualism was birthed in 1848 in the USA from the activity of two girls, the Fox sisters. They reported hearing rapping inside the walls of their home unrelated to anyone’s physical actions. Through their psychic abilities, they received a spirit communication explaining the rapping. The message was: a skeleton was buried in the basement of their home. Subsequently they located the skeleton of the man who had been murdered and buried there. Town officials corroborated their story, as they had been looking for this man’s body after he had been reported missing. Thus, the Fox sisters’ psychic attunements to the sounds, and their interpretation of them, proved valid.
The public became intensely fascinated with phenomena that come from spirits interacting with human beings as a result of the Fox sisters. Large dramatic exhibitions where people like the Fox sisters were on display for a fee became popular. The drama and suspense around psychic phenomena increased when some wanted to prove that contact with spirits could not exist and devised ways to make a mockery of the Fox sisters and other mediums. However, the fascination with getting discrete information from spirits grew. Explorations went on in living rooms with séances, where small groups would open themselves to communication with spirits and observing physical events, like musical instruments playing or moving independent of human touch. Even President Lincoln attended some séances in Washington, DC. They gave him useful information in his Presidency related to the Civil War (2).
The Ouija Board is a contemporary offshoot of séances that is sold as a “game”. A person following the instructions can open themselves to communication with spirits. There are 60+ choices of Ouija Boards on Amazon.com.
In the USA there is a National Spiritualist Association of Churches (NSAC), The National Spiritual Alliance (TNSA), and the United Spiritualist Church Association (USCA), but many spiritualist organizations are independent with no national affiliation. The church services include prayer and a demonstration by a visiting psychic medium. The churches also provide education of Spiritualist history and thought outside of the services. In the 19th century some Spiritualist Camps were set up for families for summer recreation and Spiritualist study. Among the best-known of the Spiritualist camps that still exist are Lily Dale Assembly in Lily Dale, New York, and Camp Cassadaga in Cassadaga, Florida(3). Approximately 0.1% of the populations of USA, UK, AU and Canada are Spiritualist, or about 220,000 people.
Perhaps the most well known Spiritualist was Edgar Cayce (1877-1945). His Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc. [above photo] is located in Virginia Beach, VA, USA, and is active today.
[Please feel free to share comments below. Let’s dialogue!]
Author Bio:
Emma Bragdon, PhD is the Executive Director of Integrative Mental Health University, IMHU.org. It offers online and live presentations giving choices for effectively optimizing mental health by including spiritual practices in a bio-psycho-social-spiritual approach.
LEARN MORE:
Once a year Emma convenes a small group of healthcare providers to Brazil for a transformative weeklong seminar on Spiritist treatments used in Spiritist Psychiatric Hospitals and Community Centers. Click HERE for more information. See YouTube videos here.
Information on an online course on Spiritist Therapies is HERE.
NOTES
(1) Kirkpatrick, S. (2000) Edgar Cayce: an American prophet. Riverhead Books
(2) Maynard, N. C. (2009) Séances in Washington: Abraham Lincoln and Spiritualism during the Civil War. Ancient Wisdom Publishing.
(3) Wicker, C. (2003). Lily Dale: the True Story of the Town that Talks to the Dead. Harper San Francisco.
Hello there Emma,
Thank you for this distinction between Spiritualism and Spiritism. I could call myself a Spiritualist and a Spiritist, and I could call myself a Christian and a Taoist. In my opinion, these are all different names for the same thing. Each of us is a spirit in a physical body, and the spirit world influences every one of us for good or for ill. How we consciously acknowledge and interact with it is how we name it. As a practitioner, I have Spiritists and Spiritualists come to me for help and Christians, Moslems, Hindus, Jews, agnostics, and atheists. They all ask for the same thing, to be relieved of the dark forces that persecute them. It makes no difference what language or culture, or religion the client is from. The name I use for my work is simply ‘Spirit Release’. I am searching for a scientific institution willing to test the method, irrespective of the name I use for it, under controlled clinical conditions. I hosted as master of ceremonies the most recent Spiritist conference in the UK, and I am still unable to find such an institution. You can help me, my Dear Emma, by putting me in touch with such an institution, for which I will be eternally grateful.
With much affection
Terry