Spiritism, is “a science dedicated to the relationship between incorporeal beings and human beings,” now represented in 35 countries.

What are the main principles of Spiritism?

Allan Kardec is the pen name of the French educator, translator and author Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (3 October 1804 – 31 March 1869). He is the author of the five books known as the Spiritist Codification, and is the founder of Spiritism.

Born in the Catholic religion, but raised in a Protestant country, the acts of intolerance that has suffered in this respect did make him conceive, since the age of fifteen, the idea of a religious reform, for which he worked in silence for many years, with the thought reaching the unification of beliefs; but lacked the essential element to the solution of this great problem. Around 1850, when it came to manifestations of spirits, Allan Kardec surrendered to persevering observations of these phenomena and devoted himself mainly to deduce from the philosophical consequences. He first glimpsed the beginning of new natural laws: the governing relations of the visible world and the invisible world; He recognized the action of this last one as one of the forces of the nature, whose knowledge was to shed light on a number of issues considered unsolvable, and understood its reach from the scientific, social and religious point of view.

His main works in this field are:

• The Spirits’ Book, to the philosophical part, and whose first edition came out on April 18, 1857;

• The Mediums’ Book, for experimental and scientific part (January 1861);

• The Gospel according to Spiritism, to the moral part (April 1864);

• Heaven and Hell, or the righteousness of God according to Spiritism (August 1865);

• The Spiritist magazine, newspaper of psychological studies, a monthly collection started on January 10, 1858.

1- Is Spiritism part of the occult?

 It is true that in the past, and still today those who do not understand Spiritism claim that is part of the occult. This has always been untrue. By its very nature Spiritism works to clarify and explain both the spirit related phenomena, spitit evolution and the divine laws that govern the universe to anyone who wishes to learn. So in no way is it mysterious, hidden, beyond ordinary understanding, or counter intuitive.

 2- Is Spiritism pagan?

This is an ironic question since the very first answer given by the spirit teachers as part of the Spiritist Codification defines and acknowledges the existence of one true God. Spiritism also goes on to acknowledges the inherent truths found not just in the three major western religions, but the sparks of truth found in all religions.

 3- Is Spiritism anti-Jesus?

 This is definitely not the way Spiritism sees Jesus. On the contrary Jesus is seen as a superior spirit, who incarnated and was the greatest of all our teachers. A person who’s sacrifice to be again reborn , tortured and then killed by those he wanted to enlighten, is seen as one of the most profound acts of love in human history.

 4- Spiritism is about telling the future?

 On the subjects of fortune telling and/or predictions Spiritism is very clear that such things are impossible. For two reasons: first since anyone possessing such knowledge would imply that this person has a quality only supposedly possessed by God. And second: since this would imply that we do not truly possess the gift of freedom of choice from God.

What spiritism does clarify is that evolved Spirits who understand the details of divine laws, can look at a persons life, motivations and past decisions and make an educated guess as to the consequences of such choices on a person’s future. But this is in no way foretelling the future, just like having a financial planner tell you the best way to retire at 40, will in no way be an assurance that this will happen.

It is also important to note that even if an evolved Spirit can make an educated guess on the future events of a certain person, this Spirits’ ability to communicate this possible occurrence is limited by the Law of Cause and Effect. If part of an incarnated person’s trial is to have to endure this future event without any forewarning then the Spirit will not be allowed to communicate the warning.

 5- Is Spiritism a religion?

 This question was answered best when Kardec said:

“Spiritism is a philosophical doctrine with religion effects, as is any spiritualist philosophy, because it inevitably reaches to the roots of all religions: God, soul, and future life. But it is not a constituted religion, since it has no services, no rituals, no temples, and no one among its adherents received the title of priest or high priest.” — Posthumous Works – Allan Kardec

6- Is Spiritism about demon/spirit worship?

 Part of the mistaken belief that Spiritism is a pagan religion and occult related has led to the belief that Spiritism is demon worship. Spiritism clearly explains that a ‘demon’ is just a fellow person, now discarnated, who has become trapped in the cycle of violence, cruelty, ignorance and hate. In no way would such a person be worshiped. Instead such individuals must be prayed for, so God will help inspire them to seek the path of progress. As for the related claim that Spiritist worship spirits. Again, Spiritism teaches us that there is only one God, and that spirits are just our fellow persons who are discarnated. Under such realizations, why would a Spiritist worship a fellow spirit?

7- Is Spiritism just another pseudoreligious scam?

 Spiritism teaches that a Spiritist must NEVER profit from charity or dissemination of the teachings. A true Spiritist has an unrelated paying job/profession and does their Spiritist related work for its own sake, not for personal gain.

“Freely ye have received, freely give. St Matthew, 10. 8″

Spiritism, as said in question 4, is not a religion implied or otherwise. As for its validity, there are millions of Spiritists all over the world. Nonetheless, accepting the teachings of Spiritism is a very personal choice.

 8- Spiritists charge fees for card readings, good luck charms and other services?

A Spiritist can never profit from charity or dissemination of the Spirit teachings. Sadly nothing stops an unethical individual from using the title ‘spiritist’ to make money. God has given us all free will, and the ability to take whatever path we wish to take. Though eventually we must all face the consequences of our choices.

 9- Didn’t Jesus say that talking to spirits is wrong?

Jesus never speaks for or against communicating with spirits. It is true that the old testament (the prophets) certainly forbid communicating with spirits.

To understand why it was forbidden, a few things about life at that time, and the nature of Spirit communication needs to be understood:

People of that time were extremely ignorant, lacking even the most basic understanding of God or morality. So the prophets had to use a policy of total fear and control in order to force people to start to give up their destructive, selfish ways. This ignorance was so great that even after the 10 commandments were recognized as law, it still took Jesus being reborn on earth, his torture and death, to begin to clarify in these people an understanding of God.

It was this need for absolute control that forced the prophets to forbid comunicating with Spirits, in order for no other outside forces to interfear with the teachings from God they intended their people to learn.

You are probably wondering why some Spirits would dare contradict God’s teachings.

Spiritism gives us a clear answer:

Spirits are nothing more than disincarnated people in diffrent states of evolution. So ignorant people in life, remain ignorant after death since the process of learning and evolving is a very slow one. Those spirits who have evolved and achieved purity are the ones God sends as guides (angels) and as teachers. The problem is that these extremely ignorant people totally lacked the ability to make such distinctions.

In order for a medium, back then, or today to be able to communicate with wise, loving, teacher spirits he/she must be a strong, ethical and well disciplined individual.

The Spiritist teachings of the 1860s were the first time when a clear and concise guide to train a medium and make such distinctions was ever made available. So it is perfectly reasonable that communicating with spirits be forbidden until such instructions were in place, and people possesed the ability to understand them.

Once again, as we said in question 8, Spiritism is not all about mediums and communicating with spirits, but it does include the guide we mentioned above.

 10- If Spiritists do not follow a religion why do they believe in reincarnation like Buddists?

 Reincarnation is defined as:

1. Rebirth of the soul in another body.
2. A reappearance or revitalization in another form; a new embodiment:
3. Embodiment in a new form (specially the reappearance of a person in another form);
4. In the Hindu or Buddhist doctrine that person may be reborn successively into one of five classes of living beings (god or human or animal or hungry ghost or denizen of hell) depending on the person’s own actions

Spiritism does not define reincarnation in the Hindu or Buddist way. The Spirit teachers revealed that when God creates a spirit it is simple and ignorant. God’s plan is for the spirit (all of us) to evolve intellectually and ethically, passing from a lower order to a higher one, until we attain perfection, and become God’s workers.

God in his infinite charity gives a Spirit all the time the individual needs to go through this long process of evolution. So a Spirit incarnates on Earth, learns a lifetime worth of lessons through trials, discarnates , then reincarnates and the cycle continues over and over again. In each reincarnation the spirit learns (or at least tries to learn) new lessons based on the new point of view and circumstances provided by that new human incarnation. This cycle continues until the Spirit has learned all the lessons needed on Earth in order to progress to a higher level of evolution.

 11- Spiritists have to be wrong, because the bible says their is no reincarnation, doesn’t it?

 Actually a belief in reincarnation was prevalent in the Jewish culture of the Old Testament and during the time of Jesus. It became part of early Christian thought championed by the great Christian theologian Origen of Alexandria, but was eventually labeled hearsay in the Concile of Constantinople in the year 553 AC

Many examples in the Old Testament still remain that hint toward the Jewish belief in reincarnation. Such as Genesis 28:12 Jacob’s Ladder, Job 14:7-9 , Psalm 16:10,11, Psalm 51:10,12, Isaiah 25:8, Isaiah 26:19 and Jeremiah 18:1,6.

But the most direct reference to reincarnation still present in the bible is found in the New Testament and relates to the prophesy of Elijah/Elias:

Jewish Old Testament prophecy foretold that the return of the prophet Elijah/Elias would precede the birth of the Messiah (Jesus)

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet,
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children
and the heart of the children to the fathers…
Malachi 4:5,6″

And so in the New Testament it talks about how John the Baptist was ‘the return’ of Elias.

Mat 11:14 And if ye will receive [it], this is Elias, which was for to come.
Mat 16:14 And they said, Some [say that thou art] John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
Mar 9:13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
Luke 9:8 And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.

How could any society that rejected reincarnation believe that the long ago dead Elias had returned within the body of John the Baptist? And if this ‘return’ was untrue, why does the claim come from the mouth of Jesus himself?

The conflict between the church and idea of reincarnation that Spiritist , people of biblical times, and Jesus himself held to be true exists because the concept is contrary to the very basic Christian idea of an instant salvation.

Salvation according to Christian dogma came in the form of Jesus’ death on the cross. This supreme sacrifice of the Son of God freed humanity from the original sin and gave us the path to deliver us from the sins of daily life. For this reason Christians must follow church dogma so they will receive this salvation and not be trapped in purgatory, or condemned to Hell itself.

In the eyes of the church if a person can be reborn again and again then the process of salvation is a slow one and in the hands of the individual, not the church. This is why the concept was outlawed in the Council of Constantinople in the year 553 AC. 

 12- Spiritism isn’t a religion, then why do they have churches?

 Spiritism has no churches, rituals, priests or dogmas. Many people with good but misguided intentions who are spiritualist, or are ‘santeristas’ create churches they call Spiritist. Sadly some less than honest individuals who are looking to exploit mediumistic phenomena for profit also create churches they call Spiritist.

13- If Spiritists don’t have churches then what is MVSC and other such groups?

 What Spiritists who want to teach and expand their charitable work are encouraged to do, by the spirit teachers, is to form non-profit centers for study and charitable work. And we mean legal, government recognized non-profit groups.

 14- Spiritism talks about laws, are these like the laws of nature?

 Yes, but Spiritism reveals that the Laws of Nature cover both laws of physics and ethical laws. These divine moral and physical laws are those that govern our existences and the rest of the universe. Here are a very brief summery of each:

Law of free will/of Liberty:

There is no fate. From the moment of our creation we are free to take whatever paths we wish to take. We can learn and evolve at our own pace and deal with the consequences of our mistakes as we see fit. When it is time for us to reincarnate we even choose our next existence and the trials that we will learn from in that existence. Even the nature of our death and length of our lives are in our hands.

Law of Cause and effect

We all possess the gift of free will, but eventually the consequences of past choices push us into situations that correspond directly to those choices. These effects are not punishments, but tools for learning which is fundamental to our evolution.

So the trials, lessons, and progress of every reincarnation are the effects of all our past decisions. After every reincarnation a person’s spirit guide shows them all the major decisions of that existence. Emphasizing the intention behind the action, the consequences of these actions and how these actions affected others. Once a person has faced the very best and worst of themselves they choose how the consequences of these actions will play out in their next existence.

Law of Affinity

To put it simply, it says that ignorant people will be attracted to other ignorant people, and wise/good people will be naturally attracted to equally good people. When an ignorant medium tries to communicate with spirits, equally ignorant spirits will be attracted o him. While when a good person tries to communicate with Spirits, good spirits will be attracted to him or her and communicate.

Law of Worship

From the moment our spirit is created, even before our first earthly incarnation, we all instinctively possess an understanding of the existence of God. We innately realize God exists, that this is our creator and that we possess the tool to communicate with this creator, the tool of prayer. This is the actual cause for divine worship found in all human cultures no matter how diverse and isolated.

Law of Work

Labor of some sort is required to fulfill all tasks. In the material world labor (physical and intellectual) is required for everything from self-preservation to the maintaining of societies. In the spiritual world labor is requiered for all personal fulfillments, fulfillment of assigned tasks, and for the helping of others. All labor, both in the spiritual and material worlds has one overall purpose, learning. Through work comes learning and evolution, without work, we would all remain children in an intellectual capacity and there would be no progress.
It is important to note that labor like anything else, must not be abused through extremes such as exploitation or self abuse. There is no progress when any tool, like labor, is used for destructive intentions.

Law of Reproduction

Simply put, for all beings to continue to exist and evolve in the material world reproduction in some form is a necessity. As for humans, reproduction is a necessity in order for spirits to continue to have opportunities for incanation and reincarnation.

Law of Preservation

The natural will to live is essential for the continued existence of all species in the material world. Without life, there would be no opportunities for learning and evolution. Of course, the more an intelligent being evolves, the more rational thought and the less instinct is involved in the methods and limits of self-preservation. Certainly self-sacrifice is a form of charity, but the intent and reasoning behind the act determines if it is truly an act of charity or a self-destructive act.

Law of Destruction

All things in the material world, everything from a human body to the worlds in our solar system will eventually end. The elements within them of course will simply change from one form to another. This change is a necessity because from it comes renewal. On a smaller scale on earth there is constant birth death and rebirth, materially speaking. Fire and natural calamities bring much destruction but eventually it brings about renewal. For intelligent beings like us, destruction is just another tool for learning. As our bodies decay we endure and learn from these changes and the mutation they bring. For human societies, destruction and rebuilding means grouth and new opportunities for the society to take more positive paths to meet its goals.
Now the forms of destruction caused by war and murder are not seen as part of the law of destruction. Life is sacred, and the intentional taking of a life is always a violation of divine law. And as such has clear and rational consequences in order for those involved to learn from such errors in judgment.

Law of Society/Social Law

The forming of societies is natural to human beings, it is necessary for intellectual and ethical progress.

And in order for human societies to function and thrive they must have laws. Of course the ethical evolution of a society is clearly seen by the way their laws protect, give equal rights, and serve the societies citizens. The more ignorant and corrupt the society is, the more its laws reflect the self-centered destructive nature of those in control.

Law of Progress

Progress is vital to the evolution of a society. Which means that the scientific discoveries that change our society daily, are actually a vital part of God’s plan for all of us. Of course the ethical evolution of a society is also a critical part of this progress. So when scientific discoveries are applied in a society void of solid ethical principles, these tools become instruments of harm instead of the instruments of learning they were intended to be used for.

As for the individual the Law of Progress means that a person is always learning and evolving. A person can get caught up in obsessions and destructive behavior but they can never forget those lessons that have truly been learned or loose the evolution gained from such learning.

A Comment About The Last Two Laws

The whole purpose behind human society and progress being a vital part of God’s plan for us is that this combination of circumstances creates an environment of learning critical for our development of reasoning skills. And the more we can reason, the better we can use this critical tool for our continued spirit evolution.

Law of Equality

We are all always equal in the eyes of our creator, God. Every spirit that will ever incarnate and/or reincarnate on earth is governed by the same divine laws and on the same path of evolution as the rest of us. The belief in the superiority of one group over another is a violation of God’s law. And the negation of the basic truth that we are all brothers and sisters.

The reality of reincarnation also completely obliterates the idea of inequality. As part of our evolution we will be reincarnated countless times and in countless bodies of all races, religions, genders, social statuses and states of health.

As for the idea of superiority or inferiority of a person based on the level of evolution of their Spirit, this too is an illusion. All spirits who incarnate/reincarnate on an earthly world are basically on the same level of evolution. Once that basic level of evolution has been achieved, the spirit no longer needs to reincarnate in a human form. It is also important to realize that those who cling to the idea of superiority and inferiority are not those who are searching for the path to their own ethical and intellectual evolution.

Law of Justice

At the moment of the creation of our Spirit, like the knowledge of the existence of God, we also all possess the instinctive knowledge of what is right and wrong (a conscience). Because of our ignorance, we lack an understanding of the consequences of our actions and impulsively choose the path of less resistance, that selfish unethical path.

Law of Charity

‘Without charity there is no salvation’, so said the spirit teachers. The greatest instrument for purgeing ourselves of past errors and progressing morally is through charity, benevolence for every one and indulgence. It is only when one is showing charity to others that one is putting into practice the lessons learned and meriting the blessings that come with progress. Law of love

Love is the basis of all of God’s laws and gifts God has given us. It is the driving force for all progress and the constant state of being for all superior spirits. It is the antitheses for the materialist, instinct driven view of the universe man in his ignorance lives by. Unselfish love was the message Jesus brought to humanity and died on the cross to make sure the lesson was never forgotten.