What is Spiritualism?

Spiritualism was a spiritual and nascent religious movement that entailed communication with the spirits of the deceased for the sake of spiritual comfort and advancement that began in America in the 1840’s. The faith in spiritualism spread through the speaking tours of spiritualist mediums and attracted up to eight million followers by the turn of the twentieth century. Although some of the credibility was lost by the 1880’s, spiritualism remained an important cultural factor in English speaking countries through the 1920’s. There are formal churches of spiritualists still in existence today, largely in the United States, Canada and Great Britain.

This site acts as a brief introduction and overview of spiritualism and, through the profiles of five spiritualist activists and mediums illustrates how women were given greater agency than ever before to exercise privileges such as traveling alone, gaining self-sufficiency through their income, and being heard, respected and sought after for advice from large audiences of both sexes. More than that, these women, inspired by their faith, used their platform to rail against social injustices such as sexism, racism, and income inequality and promoted social justice reforms such as abolitionism, women’s suffrage, gender equality, prison reform, and socialist programs.

During the Victorian Age, there was a particular ideal of women held by popular consensus as sensitive and dependent individuals. It was easy for Victorian audiences to accept that these impressionable creatures could summon and be “overwhelmed” by spirits. Likewise, it was also acceptable to give credence to the words that flowed from these mediums as they translated rappings or spoke in trance states, as the women were merely messengers from higher powers.

Why was spiritualism so connected to the social reform movements of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries? There were really two reasons for this:

1. The very nature of spiritualist beliefs centered on “the brotherhood of man” and did not involve clerics or priests, but anyone could presumably learn or be gifted with the ability to commune with spirits. The spiritualist movement did not propose a dogma, but challenged much of the structures of orthodox religion, all the while promising information from a heaven where all were seen as equal under the eyes of God. Ann Braude the spiritualism scholar and author of Radical Spirits said: “Radical Reformers were very attracted to spiritualism because it coincided with their understanding of individual sovereignty. " (Braude)

2. The Spiritualist movement began in mid-century upstate New York. This was the birthplace of many other religious movements such as Mormonism during the second great awakening, a flourishing of religious and evangelical culture in America during the first half of the 19th century. It was also the home of radical Quakers that had been at the forefront of both the women’s rights and abolitionist movements. Many people consider 1848 the year of Spritualism’s birth as a significant movement as the remarkable Fox Sisters debuted. After speaking for the spirits that plagued their house outside of Newark, New York, they were sent to Rochester, NY to their sisters where they met the Radical Quakers Isaac and Amy Post. Amy Post was one of the original signers of the Declaration of Sentiments drafted at the First woman's rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY, in that same year of 1848.

By learning about the eight figures in the Early and Influential Persons list of this site, one can trace the origins of this powerful and burgeoning movement, which linked women’s rights and other social reform movements with spiritualism from its onset. Then, by studying the profiles and stories of the five selected female mediums, one gets a clear view of how spiritualism used the belief in divine intercessory spirits and their earthly translators to challenge the world to change for the better.