What Is Spiritism?

French edition, 1868.

What Is Spiritism? (Qu'Est-ce Que le Spiritisme in French) is a brief introduction to Spiritism written by Allan Kardec in 1859, which is about a quarter of the length of The Spirits Book. Modern editions are augmented by a brief biography of the author, written by Henri Sausse, in 1896 which is mostly focused on his role in the History of Spiritism.

The book is structured as a series of conferences about Spiritism, intended to quench the public curiosity and dismiss false notions about the doctrine. It is not intended as an initiation and is not seen by Spiritists as strictly canonical but it is very important to understand Kardec's own motivations and commitment to the cause of Spiritism, as the book was entirely penned by himself, without spiritual help. Its central subjects are the following.

Criticism of Spiritism

Kardec tries to address the most common theses argued against Spiritism regarding it as a form of charlatanism. He counters the critics with the following:

Skepticism

Kardec tries to address skeptical views of Spiritism, regarding its doctrinary uniformity and validity, its scientific character and the novelty of its concepts.

Opposition of the Church

Confronting the criticism wielded by the Catholic Church, Kardec argues that religious diversity is important and that the existence of only one religion in the Middle Ages was a fertile ground for the Inquisition and cultural backwardness.

Diversity is also important because the coexistence of different doctrines may help people who disagree with one specific doctrine to find one that suits them better. Kardec was one of the earliest proponents of a personal approach to religion.

Although Spiritism does not claim for itself the status of a religion, it does not heed by the dogma of any religion.

Spiritism is not similar to Satanism

Elementary introduction to Spiritism

This chapter summarises the key points of the doctrine, notably:

Specific aspects of the doctrine

This chapter introduces some new doctrine that would be further elaborated on The Gospel According to Spiritism.

See also

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