The collection
A collection of about 50 titles on spiritism in Brazil donated by Prof. Donald Warren from Long Island University.

Click here to see a list of titles donated by Prof. Donald Warren.

Spiritism in Brazil
Spiritism (Espiritismo or Kardecismo, in Portuguese) first developed in Brazil during the second half of the nineteenth century as a mediumship religion and scientific discourse identified with the writings of French educator Allan Kardec (born Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail, 1804-1869). Although he defined Spiritism as a philosophy, a religion, and a science, Brazilians tended to grant special importance to healing mediumship since its inception. Kardec coined the term “Spiritism” – which acknowledges human communication with disembodied spirits and reincarnation – so as to differentiate the belief system from “Spiritualism” – which emphasizes resurrection. He codified Spiritist principles as dictated to him by spirits during séances in five books: The Spirits’ Book, The Medium’s Book, The Gospel Explained by Spiritism, Heaven & Hell, and Genesis.

Blending the lessons of the Christian New Testament, Platonist philosophy and life sciences, Allan Kardec professed that God had created a universe constituted of spirit and matter, and therefore, of two worlds: the visible human sphere and the realm of invisible souls. Since these “spirits” had been made imperfect, Kardec believed in the need for their moral and intellectual evolution through time toward their inevitable union with God. In this path, Jesus Christ figured as the major moral model to be emulated. Spiritists trust that spiritual and physical health can be achieved through the practice of charity, the study of Spiritist books, by receiving and giving spiritual energy or by interacting with the spirits. Spiritist meetings usually take place at centers where believers congregate to teach the doctrine to the spirits that manifest themselves, conduct physical and spiritual treatment of members, and hear lectures.

According to the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Spiritism is a fast-growing religion in Brazil with 3.8 million self-declared members in the 2010 national census. Spiritism has flourished especially among the middle-classes, but its appeal is wide, for it plays a mediating role between Brazilian popular religiosity and elite science and medicine. The religion owes much of its dissemination to the apostolate work carried out by spiritual mediuns, of which Francisco “Chico” Xavier (1910–2002) is probably the most famous. Throughout his life, Chico Xavier wrote more than 400 books and thousands of letters to family members of deceased people, ostensibly using psychography. Despite the existence of a Federação Espírita Brasileira (Brazilian Spiritist Federation) since 1884, Spiritism is not a centralized religion in Brazil, and is practiced differently according to distinct understandings of mediumship. When influenced by Afro-Brazilian tradition, Kardecism has given rise to a more popular version of Spiritism in Brazil, which is, however, not officially recognized by the Spiritist Federation.