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Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system which is monotheistic which believes in God but also believe that the spirits of the dead can be contacted by mediums. It is believed the spirits can provide information about the afterlife through the mediums. This belief system developed in the United States and reached its peak in membership from the 1840s to the 1920s, especially in English-language countries.
By 1897, it was said to have more than eight million followers in the United States and Europe, mostly drawn from the middle and upper classes. The religion flourished for a half century without canonical texts or formal organization, attaining cohesion by periodicals, tours by trance lecturers, camp meetings, and the missionary activities of accomplished mediums.
Many prominent adherents were women. Most followers supported causes such as the abolition of slavery and womens suffrage. Due to many fraudulent mediums, by the late 1880s, credibility of the informal movement weakened and more formal organizations began to appear. The belief is currently practiced primarily through various denominational churches in the United States and United Kingdom. It was and is believed by many Christians to be witchcraft.
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