What is Spiritism? A Religion Or A Belief?

Last Updated on October 30, 2022

Have you ever heard about spiritism? If not, then this article is just for you. In this article, am going to share you my understanding of Spiritism and what it is. Also, I will discuss if spiritism is actually a religion or just a doctrine.

Meaning Behind The Term Spiritism

The five books of the Spiritist Codification, written by French schoolteacher Hypolite Léon Denizard Rivail under the alias Allan Kardec, are the foundation of spiritism.

In these publications, Kardec documented observations of occurrences that he connected to incorporeal intellect that he had witnessed during séances (spirits). Spiritism is a branch of philosophy that analyzes the spiritual realm and its inhabitants, from their origins to their ultimate fates and how they interact with the material world.

There are many questions on various forums questioning what spiritism actually reveals, and to answer that in simple words, Spiritism is a spiritual philosophy that strengthens religious sentiments and is universal to all religions. According to the tenets of spiritism, all sentient beings, including humans, are really just immaterial souls that need to reincarnate into different kinds of bodies until they’ve learned all the lessons they need to learn.

Difference Between Spiritism And Religion

Spiritists insist that their practice is more of a philosophy and “way of life” than a religion. There are no preachers, and group gatherings involve discussing spirits, their movements, their effects, etc.

Spiritists embrace moral living and logical intellectual pursuits but place a higher importance on scientific inquiry than worship or adherence to rules.

Kardec defines Spiritism in “What Is Spiritism?” as “a science devoted to the relationship between nonphysical beings (spirits) and human beings.” In this way, some Spiritists do not consider themselves to be religious, but rather adhere to a philosophical philosophy that has a scientific foundation and ethical underpinnings.

However, in some ways Spiritism is religion and there is not much difference between the two says Kardec.

“If so, you shall ask, then Spiritism is a religion ? Why, undoubtedly yes, gentlemen; in the philosophical sense, Spiritism is a religion, and for that we glorify ourselves, because it is the doctrine that establishes the bonds of fraternity and communion of thoughts, not on a simple convention but on the most solid foundations: the very laws of Nature.”

Allan Kardec

For better or worse, the moral essence shared by people of different faiths is what ultimately brings them together.

What Are The Fundamental Principals Of Spiritism?

While understanding the meaning of Spiritism, we talked about the tenets or principles of Spiritism. Though it was just a brief introduction, let’s find out all the principles of Spiritism discussed by Allan Kardec.

Principals Of Spiritism:

• “God is the Supreme Intelligence, first cause of all things. God is eternal, immutable, immaterial, unique, omnipotent, supremely just and good.”

• “The Universe is God’s creation. It encompasses all rational and non rational beings, animate and inanimate, material and immaterial.”

• “In addition to the corporeal world inhabited by incarnate Spirits, which are human beings, there exists the spiritual world, inhabited by discarnate Spirits.”

• “The are other inhabited worlds in the Universe, with beings at different degrees of evolution; some less, some equal and others more evolved than human beings on Earth.”

• “All the Laws of the Nature are Divine Laws because God is their author. They cover both the physical and the moral laws.”

• “A Human Being is a Spirit incarnated in a material body.”

• “What connects the physical body to the Spirit is a semi-material body named perispirit.”

• “Spirits are the intelligent beings of creation. They constitute the world of the Spirits, which pre-exists and outlives everything.”

• “Spirits are created simple and ignorant. They evolve intellectually and morally, passing from a lower order to a higher one, until they attain perfection, when they will enjoy unalterable bliss.”

• “Spirits preserve their individuality before, during, and after each incarnation. Spirits reincarnate as many times as it is necessary for their spiritual advancement.”

• “Spirits are always progressing. In their multiple physical existences, they may sometimes become stationary but they never regress. The speed of their intellectual and moral progress depends on the efforts they make to attain perfection.”

• “Spirits belong to different orders according to the degree of perfection they have attained: Pure Spirits, who have attained maximum perfection; Good Spirits, whose predominant desire is towards goodness; and Imperfect Spirits, characterized by their ignorance, their tendency towards evil, and by their inferior passions.”

• “The Spirits’ relations with Human Beings are constant and have always existed. The Good Spirits attract us towards goodness, sustain us in life’s trials, and help us bear them with courage and resignation. The Imperfect Spirits induce us towards error.”

• “Jesus is the Guide and Model for all Humankind. The Doctrine He taught and exemplified is the purest expression of God’s Law.”

• “The morality of Christ, as contained in the Gospels, is the guide for the secure progress of all Human Beings. Its practice is the solution for all human problems and the objective to be attained by Humankind.”

• “Humans Beings are given free-will to act, but they must answer for the consequences of their actions. Future life reserves for Human Beings penalties and pleasures according to the respect they do or do not show for God’s laws.”

• “Prayer is an act of adoration for God. It is found in the natural law and is the result of an innate sentiment in every Human Being, just as the idea of the existence of the Creator is innate.”

• “Prayer makes Human Beings better. Whoever prays with confidence grows stronger against bad tendencies, and God sends the Good Spirits to assist them. This assistance will never be denied when requested with sincerity.”

What Does Spiritism Mean According To Bible?

Though Bible does not define or mention Spiritism anywhere, the doctrine uses Holy Bible as the foundation for its teachings, and it is augmented by communications from divine spirits.

Spiritism considers itself Christian because, like Jesus, it acknowledges God as the infinitely powerful Creator of the Material and Nonmaterial Worlds.