Spiritualism

Historical Context Essay

Bridget Kathleen Gwendoline Bennett (University of Leeds)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.2: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth Century, 1783-1900.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Domains

Religion and Spirituality (any)

Dates

Date of occurrence 1848-1939

Places

United States (Location)

Resources

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“Spiritualism”, sometimes called “Modern Spiritualism”, refers to a set of connected practices all based on a central premise that the living are able to communicate with the spirit world through sensitive individuals called mediums. The origins of spiritualism are undoubtedly far more complex than they have sometimes been given credit for. The religion, or movement—precise designation is difficult as it takes so many forms—drew from the animist beliefs of Native Americans and others, as well as Africanist beliefs and practices, and amalgamated them with biblical ideas of spirit possession and prophecy and other ideas about the structure of the spirit world taken from the writings of the Swedish mystic Emmanuel Swedenborg and the Austrian Franz Anton Mesmer. Swedenborgian…

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2367 words

Citation: Bennett, Bridget Kathleen Gwendoline. "Spiritualism". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 November 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1032, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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