The New York herald., 1868-04-05
Our New Religions.


European world two interesting and able
works as the result of his visit year or two
ago to the American Continent. His work,
entitled "New America" startling as it was,
has been eclipsed by his later work, esprit
ual Wives" This work, though not purely
American, is valuable chiefly from the account
which it gives Of the development of religious
ideas on this Continent, and particularly in the
United States. Looking at the many and
peculiar manifestations Ct religious thought to
which even in this century the United States
have given birth, it is difficult to resist the
conviction that our freedom and independence
of thought is, in a religious point of view, to
be largely influential in moulding the senti-
ments of the future races of men. That man
kind has religious instincts and tendencies is a
proposition which does not admit of contra
diction. That these instincts and tendencies
have shaped themselves in strange contradic-
| tory and sometimes ridiculous forms is as little
to be denied That we have had religions in
| large abundance is now truism which
one is almost ashamed to write; but how
towards perfection, or whether the later mani
festations have fallen short of the earlier, are
questions to which different persons will return
different answers. There are at this day many
people who are very much in the condition in
which st. Paul found the overmuch religious
Athenians who had erected an altar to the
unknown God. We are most of us Athenians
The altars are not wanting, but the groupings
are everywhere visible in the Old World and
in the New. We are all of us cropping, and we
is to end who can tell?
The old, old question has been revived ibis
last week by the anniversaries which have
been held in this city and elsewhere throughout
the Union in connection with Spiritualism.
Since the Fox sisters first astonished the world
from their headquarters at Rochester twenty
years have rolled past. Twenty years is
fair test, considering the limits of genera
ton, of the value of an ''ism." We say it, and |
say it honestly. 1t is not therefore fact to be
lightly esteemed that on the occasion of the |
twentieth anniversary they can, in the En-
pire City, exhibit the original priestesses,
the Vestal Virgins of the order, gather |
around them a magnificent assembly, |
and claim at the same time an unrepre- |
sented following of many Millions We |
have little doubt that this spiritualistic demon
stration has been laughed at. This, however,
is no affair of ours. We chronicle facts. and |
facts all the world over, time included are
stubborn things and command respect. The
Spiritualists are peculiarly of American growth.
OF whatever value they are, the United States
are entitled to all the glory and all the praise
If the world is 10 be revolutionized by the Fox
sisters and their followers to the door of the
United States, but particularly to the State of
New York, the honor must be given. If this
had been the only manifestation we should
have made less account of il; but inasmucb
as Mormonism, which already threatens to
be the Mohammedanism of the future. oripi-
mated among us here, we cannot with
hold the praise which is Justly due to this
vigorously intellectual State-a State which
promises to become the Palestine of the future
1t is not to be denied that the State of New
York has been particularly prolific of religious
manifestations. We are not disposed to make
too much of these manifestations. We are
quite willing to forget the names of many |
of the isms to which the State has ciyen |
birth. Some Of them have only required to |
be known to be despised and condemned. II |
has not been so with Mormonism and Spiritual |
ism. These two ''isms" have stood serious and |
testing trials; but still they live and prosper. |
Why should they not live and continue to pros |
per and become to the world of the future all |
that the older ''isms" have become to the world |
of the past? Why should not Joseph Smith |
and Brigham Young, Robert Dale Owen and |
the Fox sisters, take their place henceforward |
with the names of Moses, Brahma, Confucius,
Buddha, the vestal Virgins, or nuns, of their !
day, and the rest of them? Why it is really
difficult to say.
One thing we can and do say, and il is this |
that we make, perhaps, little too much of
orr particular ''sms" The '.ism" of our |
friend is not, perhaps, our ''ism," but notwith-
standing our friendship our respective ''isms"
to us continue to be right. How many ''isms" !,
have come and gone in the worlds history |
OF the many systems of religion which have
claimed the attention of mankind how few |
continue to be living force They have come;
they have done their work, whatever il was,
and gone their way; and of some of them we
cannot say that the result has been blessing.
How few of all existing beliefs are older than
Christianity if we except Brahminism and
Judaism there are none which influence |
to any large extent the feelings and
fortunes of mankind. Most of the old
systems have ceased to be of real,
living, practical value. Old and cnete
are characteristics not unjus,ly applied to
them Even Christianity itself is revealing