Spiritualism Essay

1901 Words4 Pages

Spiritualism:

“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” According to Buddha, everyone needs some form of spirituality to define his or her life and existence. Webster Dictionary defines spiritualism as “a system of beliefs or religious practices based on supposed communication with the spirits of the dead, often times through mediums.” Though this is one general definition of spiritualism, this concept is one that does not hold a conclusive meaning. Each and every single person has the ability and right to create and practice their own idea of spiritualism. From ancient times to present day, the term and practice of spirituality has transformed, particularly from region to region. Despite the discrepancies in practices and overall understanding of this idea, spirituality has had an effect and impact upon all of humanity since the creation of time. This religion that is believed to have been established in the early eighteen hundreds, after two little girls claimed to have the ability to talk to spirits, sparked interest in this spiritual movement, allowing it to spread rather rapidly over many geographical locations. Aside from being recognized as a religion, spiritualism is also believed to be a form of philosophy and a science in which spiritualists believe that there is life after death and try to demonstrate this through the ability of attempting to communicate with those that have passed on. Spiritualism was socially different from other religions in existence at the time because it presented followers with a more tolerant belief system that assimilated the principles and facts from a selection the world's religions. Spiritualism also made it acceptable for women to play a disti...

... middle of paper ...

... like Child Services, and trickle down to educating our youth, in classes like ours, Magic and the Spirit World. I have hope that this can be achieved, and that these communities can keep their culture alive, specifically in places like New York City. Through our readings, we learned about botanicas, for example, and how they are still around and people continually visit them, even if only for a single candle purchase. This assures me that there is still a substantial level of ethnic and spiritual unity. Furthermore, this religion proves to serve several positive effects, like loving concern in the community, societal problem solving, and individual and group security and sense of belonging. It only takes a small effort on our part to gain so much more in return. As Wade Davis stated in The Serpent and the Rainbow, “risk discomfort and solitude for understanding.”

More about Spiritualism Essay

Open Document