Spiritist Doctrine - Differences Between Spiritism and Spiritualism

Differences Between Spiritism and Spiritualism

Although there are many similarities between the two, they differ in some fundamental aspects, particularly regarding man's quest toward spiritual perfection and the manner by which the followers of each practice their beliefs.

Spiritism teaches reincarnation or rebirth into human life after death. This basically distinguishes Spiritism from Spiritualism. According to the Spiritist doctrine, reincarnation explains the moral and intellectual differences among men. It also provides the path to man's moral and intellectual perfection by amending for his mistakes and increasing his knowledge in successive lives. For this reason Spiritism does not accept rebirth in animals as this would be retrogressive.

Allan Kardec refers to Spiritism in What Is Spiritism? as a science dedicated to the relationship between incorporeal beings (spirits) and human beings. Thus, some spiritists see themselves as not adhering to a religion, but to a philosophical doctrine with a scientific fulcrum and moral grounds. On the other hand, many spiritists don't see any problem about embracing it as a religion as well.

Finally, unlike Spiritualism, Spiritism is not a religious sect but a philosophy or a way of life by which its followers live by. Its followers have no priests or ministers and do not follow any religious rituals in their meetings. They also do not call their places of meetings as churches, and instead call them by various names such as centers, society or association. Their activities consist mainly of studying the Spiritist doctrine, applying spiritual healing to the sick and organizing charitable missions.

Kardec reaffirmed that on the cover of his The Spirit's Book. Another author in the Spiritualist movement, Arthur Conan Doyle included a chapter about Spiritism in his book History of Spiritualism confirming that Spiritism is Spiritualist (but not vice-versa). As consequence, many Spiritualist works are widely accepted in Spiritism, particularly the works of scientists Sir William Crookes and Oliver Lodge. Such works are more accepted in Anglo-Saxon spiritist communities than in Latin-American ones, though.

In countries like Brazil the movement had spread and became widely accepted, mostly due to Chico Xavier's works. Today the official spiritist community has about 20 million adepts, though due to local syncretism, it is accepted and somehow practiced by three times as many across the country. Some statistics even mention an adherence to Spiritist practices by 40 million people in Brazil.

The Spiritist moral principles are in agreement with the ones taught by Jesus (according to Kardec). Other moral examples like Francis of Assisi, Paul the Apostle, Buddha and Gandhi are also sometimes considered by the spiritists. Spiritist philosophical inquiry is concerned with the study of moral aspects in the context of an eternal life in spiritual evolution through reincarnation, a process believers hold as revealed by Spirits. Sympathetic research on Spiritism by scientists can be found in the works of William Crookes, Robert Hare, Oliver Lodge and Dr. Emma Bragdon.