Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1869

An exact account for the number of Spiritists would be impossible, as we have already said, for the very simple reason that Spiritism is neither an association nor a congregation; its members are not registered in any official registry. It is well known that one could not estimate the number by the quantity and the importance of societies, attended only by a tiny minority. Spiritism is an opinion that does not require any profession of faith and can extend to the whole or part of the principles of the doctrine. It is enough to sympathize with the idea to be a Spiritist; however, this qualification not being conferred by any material act, and implying only moral obligations, there is no fixed basis to determine the number of followers with accuracy. It can only be roughly estimated by the relationships and the somewhat ease with which the idea is propagated. This number increases daily in a considerable proportion: it is a positive fact recognized by the adversaries themselves; the opposition diminished, an evident proof that the idea met with more sympathy.



One understands, moreover, that it is only on the whole rather than on the condition of isolated places, that one can base an appreciation; there are, in each locality, more or less favorable elements due to the particular state of minds and also more or less influential resistances that are exerted there; but this state is variable, for such and such place that had shown to be refractory for several years, suddenly becomes a focus. When the elements of appreciation have acquired more accuracy, it will be possible to create a colored map, with respect to the dissemination of the Spiritist ideas, as it was done for instruction. In the meantime, we can say, without exaggeration and in short, that the number of followers has increased a hundred times over the past ten years, despite the maneuvers used to stifle the idea, and contrary to the forecasts of all those who had flattered themselves to have buried it. This is a given fact, and one that the antagonists should take notice.



We are speaking here only of those who accept Spiritualism with full knowledge of the facts, after having studied it, and not of those in greater number still, among whom these ideas are in the state of intuition, and who just need to define their beliefs with more precision and to give them a name, to be avowed Spiritists. It is a well-established fact that we see every day, especially for some time now, that the Spiritist ideas seem innate in many individuals who have never heard of Spiritism; one cannot say that they were subjected to any influence whatsoever, nor followed the lead of group. May the adversaries explain, if they can it, these thoughts that are born outside and besides Spiritism! It wouldn't certainly be some preconceived system in a man's brain that could have produced such a result; there is no more obvious proof that these ideas are in nature, nor a better guarantee of their popularization and perpetuity into the future. From that point of view, we can say that at least three quarters of the population of all countries possess the seed of the Spiritist beliefs, since we find them among the very ones that make opposition. The opposition mostly comes from the misconception they have of Spiritism; generally, they only know it through the ridiculous pictures painted by malicious or interested critics in decrying it, hence they rightly reject the qualification of Spiritists. Certainly, if Spiritism resembled the grotesque paintings that have been made of it, if it consisted of the absurd beliefs and practices that they took pleasure in attributing to it, we would be the first to repudiate the title of Spiritist. When these same people learn that the Doctrine is nothing other than the coordination and development of their own aspirations and their inner thoughts, they will accept it; they are, undoubtedly, future Spiritists, but in the meantime we do not include them in our estimates.



If a numerical statistic is impossible, there is another, more instructive perhaps, and for which there exist elements that our acquaintances and our correspondence provide us; it is the relative proportion of Spiritists according to professions, social positions, nationalities, religious beliefs, etc., taking into account the fact that certain professions, such as ministerial officers, for example, are limited in number, while others, such as industrialists and investors, are in indefinite number. All things considered we can see which are the categories where Spiritism has found the most adherents to date. In some, the percentage was established with sufficient accuracy, without the claim that it was done with mathematical rigor; the other categories were simply ranked based on the number of followers they provided, starting with those with the most followers, whose data may be provided by the correspondence and the list of subscribers to the Spiritist Review. The table below is the result of more than ten thousand observations.



We attested the fact, not seeking or discussing the cause of that difference, that could nevertheless be the subject of an interesting study.

2^nd: There are more men than women Spiritists. It is certain that, in families divided by their belief in Spiritism, there are more husbands thwarted by the opposition of their wives than wives by that of their husbands. It is no less constant that, in all spiritualist meetings, men form the majority. Critics have therefore wrongly claimed that the doctrine was mainly recruited among women because of their fondness for the marvelous. On the contrary, it is precisely this penchant for the marvelous and for mysticism that makes them, in general, more resistant than men; this predisposition makes them accept more easily the blind faith that waves off any examination, while Spiritism, admitting only reasoned faith, requires thoughts and philosophical deduction to be properly understood, to which the narrow education given to women makes them less able than men. Those who shake off the yoke imposed on their reason and their intellectual development often fall into the opposite excess; they become what is called strong women, and are of a more tenacious skepticism.

3^rd: That the great majority of Spiritists are to be found among enlightened people and not among the ignorant. Spiritism has spread everywhere, from the top to the bottom of the social ladder, and nowhere has it developed primarily in the lower ranks.



4^th: That misery and misfortune predispose to Spiritist beliefs, for the consolations they give. This is the reason why, in most categories, the proportion of Spiritists is proportional to the hierarchical inferiority, because it is there that there is the most need and suffering, while the holders of higher positions belong, in general, to the satisfied classes; exception made to the military where ordinary soldiers appear last.



5^th: That Spiritism finds easier access among the unbelievers in matters of religion than among those who have an established faith.



6^th: Finally, that after the fanatics, the most resistant to the Spiritist ideas are the sensualists and people whose thoughts are all concentrated on material possessions and pleasures, to whatever class they belong, and irrespective of the level of education.

In short, Spiritism is welcomed as a blessing by those whom it helps to bear the burden of life, and it is rejected or disdained by those whom it would hinder the enjoyment of life. Starting from this principle, it is easy to understand the rank occupied in this table by certain categories of individuals, despite the education that is a condition of their social position. By the character, the tastes, the habits, people’s way of life, one can judge in advance of their aptitude to assimilate the Spiritist ideas. For some, resistance is a question of self-esteem, which almost always follows the level of education; when that education has led them to conquer a certain social position that makes them stand out, they do not want to admit that they may have been wrong and that others may have seen more correctly. To offer proof to certain people is to offer them what they dread the most; and for fear of encountering any, they cover their eyes and ears, preferring to deny a priori and hide behind their infallibility, of which they are well convinced, whatever they are told. It is more difficult to explain the position occupied in this classification by certain industrial professions. One wonders, for example, why tailors occupy the first rank there, while the booksellers and printers, much more intellectual professions, are almost at the bottom. This is a fact that has been recognized for a long time and that we have not understood the cause yet.



If in the above statistics, instead of only assessing the de facto Spiritists, we had considered the unconscious ones, those in whom these ideas are in the state of intuition and who practice Spiritism without knowing it, many categories would certainly have been classified differently; the literati, for example, the poets, the artists, in a word, all men of imagination and inspiration, the believers of all cults would be, without any doubt, in the first rank. Certain peoples, among whom the Spiritist beliefs are innate, in a way, would also occupy another place. That is why this classification cannot be absolute and will change over time.



Homeopathic physicians are at the top of the liberal professions, because in fact, it is the one that, relatively speaking, has in its ranks the greatest number of adherents to Spiritism; out of a hundred Spiritist physicians there are at least eighty homeopaths. This is because the very principle of their medication leads them to spiritualism; materialists, therefore, are very rare among them, if any, while there are many among the allopath. Better than the latter they understood Spiritism, because they found in the physiological properties of the perispirit, united to the material principle and to the spiritual principle, the source of their system. For the same reason, the spiritualists were able, better than others, to realize the effects of this therapeutic treatment. Without being exclusive to homeopathy, and without rejecting allopathy, they understood its rationality, and supported it against unfair attacks. Finding new defenders among the Spiritists, the homeopaths did not awkwardly throw stones at them.



If the Magnetist figure in first place, just after the homeopaths, despite the persistent and often bitter opposition of a few, it is because the opponents form only a tiny minority among the mass of those who are Spiritists by intuition. Magnetism and Spiritism are, in fact, two twin sciences, that complement and explain each other, and out of the two, the one that does not want to be immobilized, cannot arrive at its complement without the support of its congener; isolated from each other, they stop at a dead end; they are reciprocally like physics and chemistry, anatomy and physiology. Most Magnetist understand by intuition the intimate relationship that must exist between the two things, that they generally take advantage of their knowledge of magnetism, as a means of introduction to the Spiritists.



Historically, Magnetist have been divided into two groups: the spiritualists and the fluidists;^[2] the latter, much less numerous, at least disregarding the spiritual principle, when they do not deny it absolutely, relate everything to the action of the material fluid; they are, therefore, in principle, opposition to the spiritualists. Now, it should be noted that, if all Magnetist are not spiritualists, all spiritualists, without exception, admit magnetism. In all circumstances, they have made themselves its defenders and supporters. They must therefore have been astonished for finding somewhat malicious adversaries in the very people whose ranks they had come to reinforce, who after having been the target of attacks, mockery, and persecution of all kinds for more than half a century, they in turn throw stones, sarcasm and often insult to the helpers that come to them and begin to weigh in the balance by their number.



Besides, as we have said, this opposition is far from being general, quite the opposite; one can affirm, without departing from the truth, that it is not more than 2 to 3% of the total number of Magnetist; it is much less still among those of the provinces and abroad than in Paris.