LITR 4328 American Renaissance Research Posts 2015 (research post assignment) Research Post 2

Kerri Phillip

10 October 2015

Spiritualism in a Modern World

In my first post I decided to research the history behind the Spiritualism movement that occurred during the American Renaissance. After reviewing my topic with Dr. White, he mentioned that there were still Spiritualist churches active around the country and that caught my interest. For my second post I decided to expand on my original topic and research the modern Spiritualist religion, to do this I utilized several active websites I found.

One of the most interesting resources I found was the National Spiritualist Association of Churches website. This group was founded in 1893 and is to this day recognized as a legitimate religious organization. Within the organization there is a Board of Directors that presides over the entire Spiritualist assemblies around the country. They also have set up their own distinct government by which all members must abide (NSAC.com). While it is common to think that religions like this one have faded out over the years, I was surprised to see just how many churches were still functioning, including one in downtown Houston. Along with its own government the NSAC has developed its own Education Department and its own school. The Morris Pratt Institute is the equivalent to a college, but one that only teaches courses on becoming a Spiritualist (morrispratt.com). The website of the NSAC treats the Institute as if it were a university, but it is important to note that is not on the government’s list of accredited colleges (GOV).

As mentioned in my first post, Spiritualist Camps were known for being large passionate gatherings where people could lose themselves in a type of religious frenzy. I was able to find that there are at least thirteen of these camps still active in the United States, and one of these is Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp in Central Florida (Cassadga). What I found most interesting was that instead of giant meetings held every once in a while the camp holds weekly church services, and daily classes and seminars for people to attend. As of now it seems they have 29 different teachers and leaders they refer to as “Reverends” that are actively teaching courses during the winter months of 2015.

Originally I assumed it would be quite hard to come across information about Spiritualism in today’s society but I was quite wrong. It seems that while it may not be talked about as regularly as other religions, Spiritualism still has a strong following, one that abides by its own laws and has set up its own education system. If I were to continue my research about Spiritualism I think a good place to start would be the church that is located in Houston because there is no better place to learn information than from the source.

Works Cited

 “Church Services”. Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.

“History”. Morris Pratt Institute.. Web. 10 Oct. 2015

United States. Department of Education. Postsecondary Education. The Database of Accredited   Postsecondary Institutions and Programs. N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.

“What is NSAC?”. National Spiritualist Associations of Churches. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.