Spiritism

Spiritism is a doctrine promoted by the French professor Allan Kardec. His first two books were:
The Spirits' Book — Defines the guidelines of the doctrine, covering points like God, Spirit, Universe, Man, Society, Culture, Morals and Religion.
The Mediums' Book — Details the mechanics of the spiritual world, the processes involved in channeling spirits, techniques to be developed by mediums, etc.

Other characteristics ideas of his were:
 Promoting the dialog between the three classical forms of knowledge (science, philosophy and religion) for achieving a more complete comprehension of the reality;
 Submitting the fundamental points of the religious systems to a critical and empirical exam, for separating fantasy and reality. This way, men can avoid materialism and dogmatism at once, being critical and spiritual.
 Emphasizing human power and responsibility for acting, creating and changing the world around.

Although Kardec claimed it was distinct, spiritism is similar to spiritualism. Kardec's books were based on reporting séances in which he claimed to observe phenomena which he attributed to incorporeal intelligence (spirits). Arthur Conan Doyle included a chapter about Spiritism in his book History of Spiritualism. This said that Spiritism is Spiritualist (but not vice-versa).Arthur Conan Doyle. 1926. The history of spiritualism. New York: G.H. Doran. As a consequence, many Spiritualist works are widely accepted in Spiritism, particularly the works of scientists Sir William Crookes and Oliver Lodge.William Crookes. 1874. Researches on the phenomena of spiritualism. Burns, LondonOliver Lodge. 1930. The reality of a spiritual world. E. Benn

 Other websites 
The Spirits' Book  by Allan Kardec (PDF file)
The Sator Formula engraved on a human skull 

 References 

 Related pages 
Spirituality

Category:New religious movements
Category:Occult