LITR 4328 American Renaissance Research Posts 2015 (research post assignment) Research Post 1

Kerri Phillip

15 March 2015

The Who and What of Spiritualism

Spiritualism is a religion that I was first introduced to in Dr. White’s class earlier this semester.  The fact that many people in varying cultures believe that the living can contact the dead and ask them for advice is one that I am familiar with, but the fact that there was an entire religion started for it here in the United States had escaped me.  Who had started it?  Where was it started?  Is there a book or literary piece that they use to enforce their rules and beliefs like most other religions?  Did anyone ever keep a log or diary of what happened when the people came together?  How did the people come together?

The recorded date of the start of what is called Modern Spiritualism was March 31^st 1848 in Hydesville, New York.  On this day two sisters, Kate and Margaret Fox, reportedly made contact with a spirit in their home.  The girls became sensations overnight and through friends, managed to gather a following that was made up of mostly radical Quakers.  It is said that the organization was filled mostly of women in the upper and middle class and that the Spiritualism movement spread throughout the world, but it caught its largest foothold in the United Kingdom.  One of the most interesting aspects of Spiritualism is that the followers used their supposed connection with the spirits to ask questions about God and reflect on how the things they were learning affected religion.

The types of meetings held varied in size greatly.  Everything from small séances held in the home to summer camps where hundreds of thousands of believers attended were held.  These camps held almost continuous daily sermons with different speakers getting up one after another and becoming more passionate as the days went on.  It is said that by the end people behaved in an almost religious frenzy by shouting, collapsing, and sobbing.  While there was no holy book of any kind, considering most of the people involved came from other organized religions, it was very common for there to be newsletters put out regularly concerning the topic of Spiritualism.  The most influential of these journals was the Banner of Light, a Boston newsletter that came out weekly from 1857-1907.  It started out as a regular literary magazine but due to the response to an article on Spiritualism, decided to focus mainly on that topic from then forward.  It was considered a great resource for people who wished to understand Spiritualism and learn about its history.

Spiritualism was a great phenomenon in the eighteen hundreds that while started in the United States spread quickly throughout the world.  They did not denounce God but instead chose to use their alleged ability to contact the dead to learn more about Him and apply what they learned to religion.  There is a lot of contradicting information about what actually occurred during meetings, and whether or not the entire thing was a farce made up by the Fox sisters to scare their mother, but it can’t be denied that it had a major impact on society at that time.  Researching this topic has led me to believe that it is hard to find factual information when dealing with religious matters.  Everything read has to be taken with a grain of salt because whether they meant to or not, the material will vary depending on whether the author was a believer or not.  It also led me to wonder how large of a following Spiritualism still has in today’s society.

Works Cited

Melton, John Gordon.  “Spiritualism: Religion.”  Encycolpedia Brittanica Online.  2013.  Web.  14 March 2015.

Religious Denominations in the United States: Their Past History, Present Condition, and Doctrines.  Savannah: John M. Cooper & Co, 1861.  Web.  16 March 2015.

SNUi SNU International.  Spiritualists’ National Union.  Web.  11 March 2015.