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Secular Spirituality
Reincarnation and Spiritism in Nineteenth-Century France
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Publisher:
2006
Summary
Secular Spirituality challenges the traditional dichotomy between Enlightenment reason and religion. It follows French romantic socialists' and spiritists' search for a new spirituality based on reincarnation as a path to progress for individuals and society. Leaders like Allan Kardec argued for social reform; spiritist groups strove for equality; and women mediums challenged gender roles. Lynn L. Sharp looks closely at what it meant to practice spiritism, analyszing the movement's social and political critique and explaining the popularity of the new belief. She explores points of convergence and conflict in the interplay between spiritism and science, spiritism and psychology, and spiritism and the Catholic church to argue that the nineteenth century was not as 'disenchanted' as has been thought. Secular Spirituality successfully places spiritism within a larger cultural conversation, going beyond the leaders of the movement to look at the way spiritism functioned for its followers.
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Bibliographic data
Copyright year
2006
ISBN-Print
978-0-7391-1338-7
ISBN-Online
978-0-7391-6071-8
Publisher
Lexington, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
245
Product type
Book Titles
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Contents No access
Acknowledgments No access
Introduction Secularism and Spirituality No access
Chapter One Romantic Reincarnation and Social Reform No access Pages 1 - 48
Chapter Two 1850-1880: Building a Movement No access Pages 49 - 90
Chapter Three Politics of the Séance: Progress, Gender, Equality No access Pages 91 - 122
Chapter Four Struggles for Legitimacy: Science and Religion No access Pages 123 - 162
Chapter Five Spiritism, Occultism, Science: Meanings of Reincarnation in the Fin de Siècle No access Pages 163 - 200
Conclusion Thoughts for "Modern" Spirits No access Pages 201 - 208
