Spiritism, a branch of Spiritualism, is a religious and philosophical doctrine established in France in the 1850s by the French teacher, educational writer and translator Hippolyte Leon Denizard Rivail, who, under the pen name Allan Kardec, wrote books on "the nature, origin, and destiny of spirits, and their relation with the corporeal world".
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Spiritism is currently represented in 35 countries by the International Spiritist Council.
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Spiritism is a major component of the syncretic Afro-Brazilian religion Umbanda and very influential in Cao Ðai, a Vietnamese religion started in 1926 by three mediums who claimed to have received messages that identified Allan Kardec as a prophet of a new universal religion.
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Spiritism is based on the five books of the Spiritist Codification written by French educator Hypolite Leon Denizard Rivail under the pseudonym Allan Kardec, in which he reported observations of phenomena at seances that he attributed to incorporeal intelligence .
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Spiritism's work was later extended by writers such as Leon Denis, Gabriel Delanne, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ernesto Bozzano, Gustav Geley, Chico Xavier, Divaldo Pereira Franco, Emidio Brasileiro, Alexandr Aksakov, William Crookes, Oliver Lodge, Albert de Rochas, and Amalia Domingo Soler.
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Spiritism claimed he was directed by the Lord Jesus Christ to reveal the doctrines of his second coming.
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Spiritism incorporated various concepts from Mesmerism, among them faith healing and the energization of water to be used as a medicine.
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Spiritism was not accepted by UK and US Spiritualists of the day as they were undecided whether or not to agree with the Spiritist view on reincarnation.
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All knowledge in Spiritism is publicly available and is never acquired through some form of initiation or hierarchical ascension.
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Many of its followers, the description of Spiritism is three-fold: science, for its studies on the mechanisms of mediumship; philosophy, for its theories on the origin, meaning and importance of life; and religion, for its guidance on Christian behavior which will bring spiritual and moral evolution to mankind.
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Spiritism is not considered a religion by some of its followers because it does not endorse formal adoration, require regular frequency or formal membership.
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Spiritism has adherents in many countries, including Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Jamaica, Japan, Portugal, Spain, United States, and particularly in Latin American countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Brazil, which has the largest proportion and greatest number of followers.
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Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it".
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Spiritism's books sold millions of copies, all of which had their proceeds donated to charity.
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