Serving the Gospel of Spiritualism: A Study of Modern Spiritualist Ministers and their Calling

Since its birth in 1848, Spiritualism as a religion, science and philosophy has transitioned from a ragtag movement into a veritable religious tradition. At the center of this modern-religious movement are the ministers−those who have heeded the calling to God to serve those in need of spiritual guidance and to offer spirit communication, in some way, as “mediums.” As discovered through data collection and empirical research, ordained ministers of Spiritualism who purportedly have this gift were raised in a wide range of religious backgrounds, largely Christian-based, but followed a variety of belief systems before embracing Spiritualism as a religion. Based on case studies and fieldwork, as well as a plethora of data and research collected on the modern Spiritualist movement in America−both primary and secondary−this paper focuses upon the ethno-religious aspects of the religion, mediumship and the ministers themselves. One hundred Spiritualist ministers were initially surveyed, with 62 respondents, and 54 subjects ultimately accepted in the data collection portion of this study. A number of ministers offered additional research data through consultation and interviews. The purposes of this study were to determine whether modern Spiritualist ministers were raised in the religion, or actually converted to it from another, more mainstream religion; and if so, what relative factors existed which prompted them to serve the religion of Spiritualism as a minister? Also, did the ministers have a “calling” or an inner urge to pursue the vocation and was this precipitated by God? This paper addresses these questions