Why did nineteenth-century radicals such as Robert Owen and Alfred Russel Wallace, embrace the philosophy of spiritualism?

A major reason why radicals embraced spiritualism is because this philosophy was seen as taking power away from the Church. This notion of Primitive Methodism is crucial – some people began to feel that they no longer needed to accept the authority of the Church as they could now achieve spiritual things on their own. One could engage in spiritualist inspiration from their own homes. As Slotten explains, spiritualism appealed to many educated Victorians who no longer found the traditional religious doctrine acceptable, yet were unsatisfied with the increasingly materialistic and mechanical views emerging from Nineteenth-century science.[6] This idea of taking power away from the Church was reinforced by the on-going Industrial Revolution. As a result of industrialisation, there was increasing urbanisation and more goods were available for consumption. Before, much of the freedom of people was restricted – either by the Church or the government, but now people could express themselves. The rise of spiritualism emphasised effects of Industrialisation and convinced many people that the Church is not a do-or-die form of authority.

As the power of the Church declined, the power of science began to rise. In 1774, German doctor Franz Anton Mesmer began conducting experiments to discover if humans can be treated via the use of mechanical manipulation. In his work titled Planetarium Influxu, Mesmer argued the existence of animal magnetism, claiming that the movement of planets influences the conduction of invisible fluids. He claimed that health is influenced through bodily tides, and health and personality move in correspondence with various astrological influences. This scientific theory of mesmerism caught the eyes of many. The new and emerging bourgeois class in Paris was fascinated by Mesmer’s actions and this provided him with a new market. Mesmerism combined the supernatural with a growing interest in science, sparking intrigue. This is a fundamental reason as to why many radicals such as Wallace embraced spiritualism. The influence of science is key. Even from the onset, the manner in which the Fox sisters ‘conducted’ experiments to prove the existence of a spirit appealed to a great many who were intrigued by the logic of scientific discovery. There is a peculiar scientific knowledge inherent in spiritualism that, building on the influence of mesmerism, appealed to masses. The rising interest in Science further reinforced the discontent that many radicals at the time had with the Church. This competing discourse meant that you no longer had to believe things simply because you were told them (i.e. by the Church), you could act on you own accord. The idea of spiritualism and the fact that seemingly anybody could engage in it, for some, ruined the idea of God. The fact that a human could have the power of God seemed to shake belief. Nevertheless, it is important to note that there were exorcists who were employed by the Church at the time – for some people, spiritualism was a reaffirmation of their faith. Radicals on one side of the spectrum would have seen spiritualism as proof that we as people do not need to rely on the Church for everything. On the other side, the fact that people were claiming to be speaking to spirits of the dead reinforced their belief in God and religion.

Science[b] in general was becoming increasingly reputable, not just because of the rise of mesmerism. The Age of Enlightenment saw drastic scientific developments[c]. Science during this Era was dominated by scientific societies and academies which had largely replaced universities as the centres of scientific research and development. Scientific literature was rising to great importance and circulation of such materials was helped by the flourishing printing press. Ideas of humanitarianism, scholasticism and individual-conscience were gaining significant traction. All of these factors contributed significantly to the diminishing authority of the Church by offering alternative forms of knowledge and understanding. The scientific intrigue behind spiritualism convinced many ordinary people and radicals alike to disband from the Church and/or explored the scientific curiosity of spiritualism.

As well as the fundamentals of spiritualism being attractive to many, a key reason why so many radicals embraced spiritualism is because of the flourishing printing press. For many radicals who were already disillusioned by the Church, enticed by science, and driven by socialism; mass media reports of spiritualism acted as the final-step in the embracing of spiritualism. News of the Fox sisters’ ‘discovery’ spread fast thanks to the new and improving communication technologies such as the mass media and the printing press. Additionally, popular literature (circulating rapidly during the Enlightenment era) often depicted ghost stories and hauntings, drawing in popular audiences. The Yorkshire Spiritualist Telegraph, Britain’s first supernatural newspaper, and other similar institutions appealed to masses. With the media and printing press constantly circulating information and stories on spiritualism – it is inevitable that some radicals, and general people, would have been fascinated by this philosophy which was gaining mass coverage.

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[1] Alfred Russell Wallace, Miracles and Modern Spiritualism [1874] 3rd. ed. (London: George Redway, 1896), p. 115.

[2] Slotten, The Heretic in Darwin’s Court, pp. 365-372.

[3] Ibid., pp. 436-438, 366, 453, 487-488.

[4] Ibid., pp. 265-267, 299-300, 361-364.

[5] Frank Podmore, Robert Owen, a biography: Volume 2 (London: Hutchinson & Co., 1906), pp. 604-614.

[6] Ross A. Slotten, The Heretic in Darwin’s Court: The Life of Alfred Russell Wallace (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), p. 4.

[a]This needs to be footnoted somehow

[b]I can talk about the Scientific Revolution if words are needed

[c]An historian from the Reformation parts and a piece of evidence for scientific developments during the Enlightenment