Religion profile: Kardecist Spiritism
Reincarnation as spiritual training
In 1979, a recent letter from a student who had been killed three years before was received in a session of “automatic writing” by Brazil’s most famous medium, Chico Xavier. This letter from beyond the grave was presented to the presiding judge at the murder trial of the boy’s killer, a close friend. Its account of the crime was so accurate that it was entered into official court documents. The judge’s finding of accidental death included this surprising statement:
We must give credibility to the message…, although legal circles have not yet acknowledged anything of this sort, in which the victim himself, after his death, reports and provides data to the judge, and so informs sentencing.
To understand how a letter from the afterlife came to be accepted in a court of law, we need to know more about Kardecism, an esoteric tradition that was founded in France in the 1850s, and that today has tens of millions of followers around the world, especially in Brazil.
Most people know about Spiritualism, the séance tradition of talking to the spirits of the dead. It began in the late 1840s in the USA and soon spread to other countries. It became a sort of popular frenzy in France in 1853–1854, when Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (1804–1869) encountered it. Writing as Allan Kardec, he published a series of five books that shaped a related but distinct religion: Spiritism or Kardecism. “Kardecism” is more useful, both for marking its difference from the less philosophically developed tradition of Spiritualism, and for saving Spiritism as a more general category for the many esoteric traditions that emphasize communicating with the dead.
Kardec believed (or discovered) that many of the spirits of the dead who appear to mediums are advanced spiritual teachers who come to help us. These are people, just like us (except currently discarnate), who were quicker to advance spiritually, over many reincarnations. Motivated by charity, they pass on teachings through mediums. Kardec’s books were written mainly by spirits who, working with a team of mediums, answered a series of questions that he posed.
Kardecism spread throughout much of Latin America and the Caribbean in the 1860s and 1870s, where it continues as a significant minority religion. It is found throughout Europe and former British and French colonies, and it influenced a wide variety of Afro-diasporic, esoteric and new religious traditions in these places. Brazil has the largest number of Kardecists in the world: 3,800,000 Brazilians (2% of the population) self-identified as members on the 2010 census. (The actual number is higher, because many members report “Catholicism” or “no religion” on the census, because they do not see Kardecism as a religion.) The Brazilian Spiritist Federation estimates that as many as 30,000,000 Brazilians, many of them “Roman Catholic,” regularly attend study sessions and rituals.
Beliefs
Monotheism. There is one God, the loving and good Creator of all things … and of all spirits.
Reincarnation is a learning opportunity. God made all humans (=spirits) equal, in an innocent and spiritually undeveloped state. Our purpose is to progress – spiritually and ethically – over a long series of incarnations in this world (and others). This view of spiritual growth or salvation as a matter of moving up through a series of distinct levels is characteristic of esoteric traditions. (See here for more on the esoteric nature of Kardecism.)
Spiritual evolution. The concept of spiritual progress or evolution characterizes each spirit’s individual trajectory from creation to perfection. (These ideas reflect the late nineteenth-century western-European origins of this religion.) After many incarnations, spirits (=humans) reach a point at which incarnation is no longer needed, because the lessons of embodied life have been learned. Spiritual evolution continues on a more elevated plane.
Back to God. The ultimate goal of spiritual evolution or progress is to return to the Creator. This idea is another characteristic of esoteric traditions: an original creative movement in which all things move down from God or the One; then an individual or group spiritual journey that involves climbing back up to that Creator. Variations of this out-and-back idea are found in Hermetism, Gnosticisms, Neo-Platonism, Kabbalah, Paracelsianism, Christian Theosophy etc.
Jesus the great spiritual teacher. Jesus is a created spirit like all of us, but he rose with record speed up the path of spiritual evolution, becoming the most developed spirit to ever incarnate in this world. Motivated by charity, he chose to incarnate one last time in order to teach. This was his free choice, because he had no more to learn from embodied existence. This view of Jesus is more like that of a bodhisattva in Buddhism than the Christian view of an agent / victim of an Atoning sacrifice. (There is no concept of Original Sin in Kardecism.)
No spirit possession or exorcism. Mediums voluntarily work with spirits during rituals. Spirit possession can never happen, because each spirit is inseparably linked to its body while incarnate.
Influenced autonomy. Similarities of sentiment between incarnate and discarnate spirits explain certain human differences. Some people are hampered by vulgar spirits who resonate with and amplify their mutual limitations. Others progress more rapidly on their spiritual path, because they resonate with more highly-evolved spirits. Spirits cannot possess us, but they can hold us back or help us move forward; at the same they they hinder or help themselves in their spiritual path.
No angels, no demons. There are no non-material entities other than God and created spirits. Kardecism does not believe in demons or evil spirits, nor in angels.
Charity as sign of spiritual progress. Discarnate souls work compassionately with earthly mediums, in order to help their less evolved incarnate fellows with their spiritual progress. This applies both to more advanced spirits who are awaiting their next incarnation and to those sufficiently advanced to require no further incarnation. The spirits see us here in this world: discarnate spirits will often help their loved ones, who are currently passing through an embodied phase of their spiritual evolution. Developing spirits, like us, are often accompanied over many embodied lifetimes by a single, more advanced spirit: like a guardian angel this “good Spirit” or “good genius” protects and guides us on our path. Here in this world, Kardecists spend a lot of time and money founding, supporting and volunteering at orphanages, homes for the elderly, hospices etc. Like faith for many Christians, charity is the core Kardecist value that leads to, and is recognized through, good works.
Innate mediumship. All people have a natural capacity to communicate with the spirits that surround us, but some have it more. Kardecism offers a way to practice and perfect one’s mediumship. Experience leads to more controlled and uniformly positive interactions with spirits. Dedicated mediums often establish working relationships with specific spirits, including important mediums of previous generations.
Fieldwork example: One day during his high-school years, D.C. came home to find his best friend standing in his kitchen. The friend had died hours earlier in a motorcycle accident. He did not speak, and he disappeared after a few minutes. D.C. consulted a medium and was told that the friend – confused by his sudden, violent death – had understandably checked in with a familiar face, as he began his afterlife journey. No need to worry about him. The real issue was that this experience was a wake-up call for D.C. himself. He had strong powers of mediumship, and he needed to develop these, in order to remain in control during inevitable encounters with other spirits. (Discarnate spirits at or below the typical level of spiritual evolution in our world are attracted to those who have this gift.) D.C. took this advice seriously, and he later became a medium in the related religion of Umbanda.
Books from above and beyond. The messages received from highly evolved spirits are often published in book form. Most Kardecist books are published with the spirit’s name listed as author. The medium’s name appears in smaller print, as the person who “psychographed” the work. Chico Xavier’s more than 400 psychographed books have sold over 50,000,000 copies, with 100% of the profits donated to Kardecist charities.
Reincarnation as social event. Brazilian Kardecism has developed the idea, found in Kardec’s work, that departed spirits interact with their loved ones over many incarnations. The popular Brazilian idea of twin souls (almas gêmeas) is related to this: each spirit has an ideal romantic partner. Multi-incarnational romances are a staple of the best-selling genre of Kardecist novels. Tele-novellas sometimes feature these multi-incarnational love stories.
Science not religion. Kardecists often see themselves as non-religious. In their view, communication with the dead is obvious and scientific, given the dual nature of reality, material and spiritual, visible and invisible. For example, Pedro Alvarez y Gasca, a president of the Mexican National Spiritist Centre in the 1970s, expressed this clearly: Kardecism is a scientific, philosophical and moral system rooted in Kardec’s texts; it is not a religion.
Social progress. The spirits taught Kardec that social equality would flourish as more and more people understood the truths that they brought. There are no social or racial differences when it comes to reincarnation and spiritual progress. The Book of the Spirits (§799) tells us that, “with the future life no longer veiled by doubt, people will understand better that the present can assure their future. By destroying the prejudices of sects, castes, and colors, it teaches people the great solidarity….”
Rituals
Study. The most common Kardecist activity is group and individual study of classic Spiritist texts, mainly Kardec’s, along with public lectures and discussions.
Passing on spiritual teachings from above. Trained mediums work in closed sessions (often through automatic writing) with evolved spirits who give advice (often published in book form). The purpose is to guide and support the spiritual evolution of those of us who are still reincarnating in this and other worlds at this less evolved material level. The majority of Kardecist publications are collections of these teachings.
Passing on messages from the recently dead. Mediums also receive and pass on messages from recently departed individuals. This aspect of Kardecism is very close to Spiritualism. People mourning recently deceased family members might receive a visit from a Kardecist acquaintance. They arrive with a psychographed message from the departed spirit.
Fieldwork example: I have interviewed people in Brazil who rejected this sort of first-contact from the beyond as false and received no others. Others accepted these letters as true and continued to received messages from their loved ones, from beyond the grave. One family showed me a binder with dozens of letters from their son, who had died as a young child. Over many years, with the help of Kardecist mediums, they had been able to follow the spiritual progress of their child, who could see and hear them, and who was was preparing for the next incarnation.
Non-contact spiritual purification. Public meetings generally end with those attending receiving passe from advanced practitioners. In this ritual (derived from Mesmerism and similar to reiki) the recipient sits in a quiet, low-light room and a medium stands behind or in front of them, passing their hands above the recipient’s head and upper torso without contact. This is believed to transfer positive magnetic fluids or energies either from the medium or from the spirits via the medium (these being two distinct forms of passe). (Sometimes long-time members who are not mediums give passe, in which case it is a spirit who works through them.) Passe is also given to groups. The ritual is used as a healing technique, with mediums visiting patients in homes and hospitals in order to “give passe as an act of charity.
Fieldwork example: We spent some time in Brazil shortly after my toddler daughter had been hospitalized with encephalitis in Canada. When we arrived in Brazil, a Kardecist relative of my wife arranged for two mediums to come to the house and give our daughter passe each day for a week. Some of her clothes were invested with positive magnetic fluids in a ritual at the Kardecist centre. We gave shirts in this case, but any clothes can be magnetized. I took other shirts to a terreiro (grounds, temple) of Umbanda, where they went through basically the same ritual. I took others to a Neo-Pentecostal church for a Christian version of the same ritual, a blessing of clothing performed by a pastor, who transmitted and invested the power of Christ. Our daughter wore all these shirts for healing. (Polyphonic ritual advantages of a scholar of religion/s in the field.)
Disobsession. There are no exorcism rituals, because there is no spirit possession. However, unevolved spirits are believed to cause perturbation by interfering with people. Their presence results in negative magnetic fluids, with consequences that range from mild emotional disturbance (easily handled when the person affected has some training as a medium) through fascination (serious distortions of thought that are not recognized as caused by a spirit) to subjugation (in which the spirit partially deprives their victim of autonomy). The cure is ritual disobsession, which involves treating both the victim and the offending spirit. The spirit is treated by helping them to understand that their negative actions are delaying their own spiritual development.
Psychic surgery. Kardecism has influenced popular spiritual healing practices in Brazil, notably psychic surgery. (Psychic surgery is rarely performed in Kardecism itself.) For example, the medium Zé Arigó (José Pedro de Freitas: 1922–1971) became world famous for psychic surgeries and other treatments. These were performed – with the medium in trance – by the spirit of a discarnate German physician and surgeon, Doctor Fritz. Since Arigó’s death, Doctor Fritz has continued his healing work through other mediums.
Take-home points
What do we learn from the example of Kardecism?
Esotericism is mainstream. In terms of the number of members, Kardecism is as large as or larger than Judaism – much larger if we include the tens of millions of people who attend for ritual services. It is far from the only example of an esoteric tradition that has millions of followers. For example, Caodaism (a Vietnamese esoteric tradition, influenced by Kardecism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity and Islam) has about 4 million members worldwide.
“Possession” is misleading. There is no possession in Kardecism. Mediums enter into working partnerships with spirits, remaining in control while in a relaxed trance state. In general, spirit incorporation is a better term, because it does not imply that spirits simply take over mediums. The human-spirit relation is dynamic and two-way in most mediumship religions.
Trance states reflect social contexts. Kardecist mediums go into mild trance states that allow them to receive messages from these spirits, usually in sessions of automatic writing, in which a spirit moves their hand. Mediums in this religion are not possessed by spirits; they work with them. There is a spectrum of trance states in Brazilian spirit incorporation religions. Kardecist mediums remain in control during their light trance states and remember the experience clearly. Mediums in the related, largely Afro-Brazilian, religion of Umbanda go into a deeper trance, in which spirits (also spiritually advanced, positive “entities”) take control of their bodies and voices, and the mediums generally recall the experience clearly. In the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé, the Orishas (positive West African divinities) “ride” initiated mediums who enter into a deeper trance state, recalling little if any of the period of incorporation. This spectrum of experiences of self-control and memory in relation to spirit-work is correlated with differences in the racial, class and often sexual identities of members. Candomblé, for example, has a far higher proportion of black and poor, as well as homosexual, trans and non-binary members.
In sum, Kardecism is a type of Spiritism: an esoteric tradition that centers on communication with the dead. It is very modern in its emphasis on progress, equality and autonomy. It has become very Latin American, in its emphasis on healing and the centrality of social relations.
Further Reading
My more detailed article – “Kardecism,” for the World Religions and Spirituality Project – has a long list of sources.
Greenfield, Sidney M. 2008. Spirits with Scalpels: The Cultural Biology of Religious Healing in Brazil. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
A fascinating look at how Spiritist ideas influence faith healing and psychic surgery in Brazil.
Hess, David J. 1991. Spirits and Scientists: Ideology, Spiritism, and Brazilian Culture. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.
Accessible look at Kardecism in the context of Brazilian culture.
Kardec, Allan. 2011 [1857]. The Spirits’ Book. Translated by Darrel W. Kimble with Marcia M. Saiz. Brasília: International Spiritist Council.
The book that started it all.
Sharp, Lynn L. 2006. Secular Spirituality: Reincarnation and Spiritism in Nineteenth-Century France. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. // Monroe, John L. 2008. Laboratories of Faith: Mesmerism, Spiritism and Occultism in Modern France. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
These two books are solid historical overviews of the emergence of Kardecism in its historical, religious and cultural contexts (France in the late 1800s).
Moreira-Almeida, Alexander, and Francisco Lotufo Neto. 2005. “Spiritist Views of Mental Disorders in Brazil.” Transcultural Psychiatry 42: 570–95.
One of a few articles by these authors that look at Kardecist views of mental illnesses and disorders, and that reject the idea that mediumship (spirit-work) is itself correlated with these disabilities.
Negrão, Lisias Nogueira. 2005. “Kardecism.” In Encyclopedia of Religion, edited by Leslie Jones. Detroit: Macmillan Reference, 5089–91.
A nice overview by a leading Brazilian sociologist of religion (1945–2015).