In 1869, Kardec estimated that there were 6 to 7 million Spiritists, according to statistics he compiled. He compiled them based on data from subscribers to his magazines and his correspondence. This is how he explains the Spiritist Magazine of January 1869. He did not provide an approximate measurement because:

An exact enumeration of Spiritists would be impossible, as we have already said, for a very simple reason: Spiritism is neither an association nor a congregation; its adherents are not registered in any official registry. It is well known that one cannot assess the number by the number and importance of the societies, attended only by a tiny minority. Spiritism is an opinion that does not require any profession of faith and can extend to all or part of the principles of the Doctrine. It is enough to sympathize with the idea to be a Spiritist. Now, since this quality is not conferred by any material act, and implies only moral obligations, there is no fixed basis for determining the number of followers with precision. It can only be estimated approximately, based on relationships and the greater or lesser ease with which the idea spreads. This number increases daily, at a considerable rate; this is a positive fact, recognized by even its adversaries; opposition diminishes, clear proof that the idea finds more sympathy.

Spiritist Magazine of January 1869

In the same article, Kardec highlights;

Meanwhile, it can be said, without exaggeration, that, in short, the number of adherents has increased a hundredfold in ten years, despite the maneuvers employed to stifle the idea and contrary to the predictions of all those who boasted of having buried it. This is a fait accompli, of which the antagonists must be made aware.

Idem

Kardec addresses two categories of people in relation to Spiritism: those who consciously accept it after studying it and those who, although they do not yet identify as Spiritists, have intuitions and beliefs aligned with the doctrine. He emphasizes that Spiritist ideas arise naturally in many individuals, even without prior contact with Spiritism, which proves that these ideas are part of nature and tend to spread. Opposition to Spiritism, in many cases, is due to misperceptions based on distorted criticism. Once these people learn about the true doctrine, they will tend to accept it, becoming Spiritists in the future. Despite these considerations, Kardec did not include them in the study.

He also explains that, while it is impossible to obtain exact numerical statistics on the number of Spiritists, it is possible to analyze their distribution based on professions, social status, nationalities, and religious beliefs. Considering the variation in the number of people in each profession, it is possible to identify in which categories Spiritism has the most followers. In some cases, the proportion was calculated as percentages with good precision, although without mathematical rigor, while in other categories, the classification was based on the relative number of followers. These conclusions were obtained from over ten thousand observations.

Let's look at the (relative) numbers presented in the January 1869 edition:

I. ─ Regarding nationalities:- There is, so to speak, no civilized country in Europe or America where there are no Spiritists. They are most numerous in the United States of America. Their number there is estimated by some at four million, which is already a lot, and by others at ten million. This last figure is evidently exaggerated, as it would comprise more than a third of the population, which is unlikely. In Europe, the number can be estimated at one million, and France has six hundred thousand. The number of Spiritists worldwide can be estimated at six or seven million. Even if it were half, history offers no example of a doctrine that in less than fifteen years could have gathered such a number of followers spread across the entire surface of the globe. If we included unconscious Spiritists, that is, those who are so only intuitively and later become true Spiritists, in France alone one could count several million.

From the point of view of the diffusion of Spiritist ideas and the ease with which they are accepted, the main countries of Europe can be classified as follows: 1st France. ─ 2nd Italy. ─ 3rd Spain. ─ 4th Russia. ─ 5th Germany. ─ 6th Belgium. ─ 7th England. ─ 8th Sweden and Denmark. ─ 9th Greece. ─ 10th Switzerland.

II. ─ In relation to the sex:70% men and 30% women.

III. ─ Regarding age: from 30 to 70 years, maximum; from 20 to 30, medium; from 70 to 80, minimum.

V. ─ Regarding instruction:The level of education is very easy to assess through correspondence. Careful instruction, 30%; simple scholars, 30%; higher education, 20%; ─ semi-literate, 10%; ─ illiterate, 6%; ─ wise officers, 4%.

V. ─ Regarding religious ideas: Roman Catholics, freethinkers, not bound by dogma, 50%; ─ Greek Catholics, 15%; ─ Jews, 10%; ─ liberal Protestants, 10%; ─ Catholics linked to dogmas, 10%; ─ Orthodox Protestants, 3%; ─ Muslims, 2%.

Of the 11 items, we want to highlight this one, which deals with religious ideas. Here, Kardec makes clear the distance between Spiritism and religion. Once again, Spiritism was never a religion; Spiritism is a philosophical science. As a science, it investigates everything rationally; it can remain a religion and study Spiritism. Those with free thought and reasoned faith do not cling to dogma.

VI. ─ Regarding fortune: mediocrity, 60%; ─ average fortunes, 20%; ─ indigence 15%; ─ large fortunes, 5%.

VII. ─ In relation to the moral state, abstraction made of fortune: afflicted, 60%; ─ without restlessness, 30%; ─ happy in the world, 10%; ─ sensualists ((sensualists are those who follow the doctrine of sensualism, that is, the doctrine of those who attribute the origin of all ideas to the senses, opposing idealism.))

VIII. In relation to social class: Without being able to establish any proportion within this category, it is clear that Spiritism counts among its adherents several sovereigns and princes-regents; members of sovereign families; and a large number of titled figures. In general, Spiritism has the most adherents among the middle classes. In Russia, it is more or less exclusively among the nobility and upper aristocracy. In France, Spiritism spread among the petite bourgeoisie and the working class.

IX. ─ Military state, according to the degree: 1st - lieutenants and warrant officers; 2nd - non-commissioned officers; 3rd - captains; 4th - colonels; 5th - doctors and surgeons; 6th - generals; 7th - municipal guards; 8th - soldiers of the guard; 9th - soldiers of the line. NOTE: Almost all Spiritist lieutenants and warrant officers are active; among the captains, about half are active and the other half are in reserve; the colonels, doctors, surgeons and generals are mostly in reserve.

X. ─ Navy:1st. ─ military navy; 2nd. ─ merchant navy.

XI. ─ Liberal professions and various functionsWe grouped them into ten categories, classified according to the proportion of adherents they provided to Spiritism: 1st - Homeopathic doctors. 2nd - MagnetistsOVocabulum magnetizer awakens the idea of action; that of magnetist an idea of adhesion. The magnetizer is the one who practices it by profession or something else. One can be a magnetist without being a magnetizer. It will be said; a experienced magnetizer and a convinced magnetist.))  2nd ─ Engineers. ─ Teachers: boarding school principals and headmistresses. ─ Free teachers. 3rd ─ Consuls. ─ Catholic priests. 4th ─ Petty employees. ─ Musicians. ─ Lyrical artists. ─ Dramatic artists. 5th ─ Bailiffs. ─ Police commissioners. 6th ─ Allopathic physicians. ─ Men of letters. ─ Students. 7th ─ Magistrates. ─ Senior officials. ─ Officials and high school teachers. ─ Protestant pastors. 8th ─ Journalists. ─ Painters. ─ Architects. ─ Surgeons. 9th ─ Notaries. ─ Lawyers. ─ Attorneys. ─ Business agents. 10th ─ Exchange agents. ─ Bankers.

We were impressed that doctors and engineers topped this list. Kardec states in the article that for every hundred Spiritist doctors, at least eighty are homeopaths. This is because the principle of homeopathy brings them closer to spiritualism, and it is rare to find materialists among them, unlike allopaths. Homeopaths understand Spiritism better, identifying the properties of the perispirit as the basis of their system. Spiritists, in turn, recognize the rationality of homeopathy and defend it against unfair criticism, maintaining a balanced stance toward allopathy.

Since Magnetism and Spiritism are complementary sciences that explain each other, neither can fully evolve without the support of the other, functioning in an integrated manner, much like Physics and Chemistry or Anatomy and Physiology. Many magnetists intuitively recognize this connection and use their knowledge of magnetism as a way to approach Spiritism.

XII. ─ Industrial, manual and commercial professions, equally grouped into ten categories. 1st ─ Tailors. ─ Seamstresses. 2nd ─ Mechanics. ─ Railway employees. 3rd ─ Weavers. ─ Small traders. ─ Porters. 4th ─ Pharmacists. ─ Photographers. ─ Watchmakers. ─ Commercial travelers. 5th ─ Planters. ─ Shoemakers. 6th ─ Bakers. ─ Butchers. ─ Sausage makers. 7th ─ Carpenters. ─ Typographers. 8th ─ Large industrialists and heads of establishments. 9th ─ Booksellers. ─ Printers. 10th ─ House painters. ─ Bricklayers. ─ Locksmiths. ─ Grocers. ─ Domestic workers.

It's more difficult to understand the position occupied by certain industrial professions in this classification. One wonders, for example, why tailors rank first, while booksellers and printers, much more intellectual professions, are near the bottom. This is a fact that has been established for a long time, and we still haven't grasped the cause.

idem

There are a number of consequences of these results that Kardec found. Among them, we highlight:

That there are spiritists at all levels of the social scale. Furthermore, the vast majority of Spiritists are found among enlightened people, not among the ignorant. And nowhere did it first develop in the lower classes.

That Spiritism finds easier access among non-believers in religious matters than among those who have a consolidated faith.

Finally, after fanatics, those most resistant to spiritualist ideas are sensualists and people whose only thoughts are focused on material possessions and pleasures, regardless of their class, regardless of their level of education.

THE Affliction and unhappiness are the great recruiters of Spiritism, as a result of the consolations and hopes it gives to those who cry and lament.

The curious thing is that after Kardec published his statistics on Spiritism, he presents, in the February 1869 edition, the assessment of these same statistics made by the newspaper Solidarity of January 15, 1869. In the article he refutes the numbers presented by Kardec, saying that Kardec made a big mistake because he did not count the followers from Asia.

We will highlight only a few excerpts, and leave the complete reading of this article to the reader. To read the article Click here

"We regret that we cannot reproduce, due to lack of space, the very wise reflections that Mr. Allan Kardec adds to these statistics. We will limit ourselves to noting with him that there are Spiritists at all levels of the social ladder; that the vast majority of Spiritists are found among enlightened people and not among the ignorant; that Spiritism has spread everywhere, from top to bottom on the social ladder; that affliction and unhappiness are the greatest recruiters of Spiritism, as a result of the consolations and hopes it gives to those who mourn and lament; that Spiritism finds easier access among nonbelievers in religious matters than among people with a fixed faith; finally, that, after fanatics, those most resistant to Spiritist ideas are those whose thoughts are entirely focused on possessions and material pleasures, regardless of their condition."

idem

“It is very wrong to Spiritist Magazine when she estimates the number of Spiritists for the entire world at only six or seven million. She obviously forgets to count Asia.

"If the term 'spiritists' refers to people who believe in life beyond the grave and in the relationships between the living and the souls of the dead, they must be counted in the hundreds of millions. Belief in spirits exists among all followers of Buddhism, and it can be said that it constitutes the foundation of all the religions of the Far East. It is widespread, especially in China. The three ancient sects that have long divided the populations of the Middle Kingdom believe in manes, in spirits, and profess their worship. ─ It can even be said that this is a common ground for them. The worshippers of So and of Fo there they meet the followers of philosopher Confucius.

“The priests of the sect of Lao-Tseu, and particularly the Tao-Tse, or doctors of Reason, owe a large part of their influence over the populations to spiritualist practices. These religious people interrogate the Spirits and obtain written answers that are no more or less valuable than those of our mediums. These are advice and warnings considered to be given to the living by the Spirit of a dead person. There are revelations of secrets known only to the one questioning, sometimes predictions that come true or not, but which are of a nature to shock the attendants and greatly stimulate their desires, so that they take charge. to carry out, themselves, the oracle.

“This correspondence is obtained by processes that do not differ much from the processes of our spiritists, but which, however, must be further perfected, if we consider the long experience of the operators who traditionally practice them.

Esse texto, intitulado “Remorso e Arrependimento”, foi integralmente extraído da Revista Espírita de maio de 1860:

"I am happy to see you all united by the same faith and love for Almighty God, our divine Lord. May he always guide you on the right path and shower you with his benefits, which he will do if you make yourselves worthy.

Always love one another as brothers; help one another, and let love of neighbor not be a meaningless word to you.

Remember that charity is the most beautiful of virtues, and that of all, it is the most pleasing to God, not only that charity which gives an offering to the unfortunate, but that charity which pities the miseries of our brothers and sisters; which makes you share in their moral pain, lighten the burden that oppresses them, in order to make their pain less vivid and their lives easier.

Remember that sincere repentance obtains forgiveness for all faults, so great is God's goodness. Remorse has nothing in common with repentance. Remorse, my brothers, is already the prelude to punishment. Repentance, charity and faith will lead you to the happiness reserved for good spirits.

Go and listen to the words of a superior Spirit, beloved of God. Retreat and open your heart to the lessons he will give you."

A GUARDIAN ANGEL

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Repentance, for Spiritism, is not something external, subject to a figure of others, as it is for religions: no, repentance is the movement of the Spirit that understands its own deviation and then seeks to correct itself, through the atonement and reparation.

The following article, dealing with the principle of the non-retrogradation of the Spirit and eliminating the idea of reincarnation as a punishment, was obtained from the article “On the principle of the non-retrogradation of the Spirit”, from the Spiritist Magazine of June 1863. It contradicts what was included in the adulteration of Heaven and Hell, as we demonstrated “The strongest evidence of tampering with Allan Kardec's Heaven and Hell“".

Since questions have been raised several times about the principle of the non-retrogression of spirits, a principle that has been interpreted differently, we will try to resolve them. Spiritism wants to be clear to everyone and not leave its future followers any reason to argue about words, so all points susceptible to interpretation will be elucidated successively.

Spirits do not retrograde, in the sense that they lose nothing of the progress they have made. They may remain momentarily stationary, but they cannot become evil from being good, nor ignorant from being wise. This is the general principle, which only applies to the moral state and not to the material situation, which from good can become bad, if the Spirit has deserved it.

Let's make a comparison. Suppose a man of the world, educated, but guilty of a crime that leads him to Wales. Certainly there is for him a great decline as a social position and as a material well-being. Appreciation and consideration were followed by contempt and abjection. Meanwhile, he has lost nothing in terms of the development of intelligence. He will take his faculties, his talents, his knowledge to prison. He is a fallen man, and this is how fallen spirits must be understood. God can therefore, after a certain time of trial, withdraw from a world where they have not advanced morally, those who have not known him, who have rebelled against his laws, ordering them to atone for their errors and their hardening in a lower world, among even less advanced beings. There they will be as they were before, morally and intellectually, but in an infinitely more painful condition, by the very nature of the globe, and above all by the environment in which they are. In a word, you will be in the position of a civilized man forced to live among the savages, or a polite man condemned to the society of the forced. They have lost their position and their advantages, but have not regressed to the primitive state. From adults, they didn't become children. This is what you mean by regression. Al no have taken advantage of their time, it is up to them to start again. In his goodness, God does not want to leave them more time among the good, whose peace disturb, and therefore sends them to live among men whose mission will be to make them progress teaching them what they know. Through this work they will be able to advance and regenerate themselves, atoning for past faults, like the slave who saves little by little to buy a day of his freedom. But, like the slave, many only save money instead of accumulating virtues, the only ones that can pay for their ransom.

This has so far been the situation on our Earth, a world of atonement and trials, where the Adamic race, an intelligent race, was exiled among the inferior primitive races that inhabited it before it. That is why there is so much bitterness here, bitterness that is far from being felt to the same degree by savage peoples.

There is certainly a retrogression of the Spirit in the sense that it slows down its progress, but not from the point of view of its acquisitions, because of which and the development of its intelligence, its social degradation is more painful. This is why the man of the world suffers more in an abject environment than someone who has always lived in the mud.

According to a system that is somewhat specious at first glance, spirits were not created to incarnate and incarnation would only be the result of their lack. Such a system is undermined by the mere fact that if no spirit had failed, there would be no human beings on Earth or on other worlds. Now, since man's presence is necessary for the material improvement of the worlds; since he contributes by his intelligence and activity to the general work, he is one of the essential cogs in Creation. God could not subordinate the accomplishment of this part of his work to the eventual fall of his creatures, unless he counted on an ever-sufficient number of guilty people to provide laborers for the worlds created and yet to be created. Common sense rejects such an idea.

Incarnation is therefore a necessity for the Spirit who, in carrying out its providential mission, works for its own advancement through the activity and intelligence it must develop in order to provide for its life and well-being.

But incarnation becomes a punishment when, having not done what it should, the Spirit is forced to start again and multiplies its painful corporeal existences through its own fault. A student only graduates after having passed all the classes. Are these classes a punishment? No. They are a necessity, an indispensable condition for their progress. But if, due to laziness, you are forced to repeat them, then it is a punishment. Passing some of them is a merit. What is certain, therefore, is that incarnation on Earth is a punishment for many who inhabit it, because they could have avoided it, whereas they may have doubled, tripled, centupled it, through their own fault, thus delaying their entry into better worlds. What is wrong is to admit, in principle, the incarnation as a punishment.

Another question that is often discussed is this: Since the Spirit was created simple and ignorant, with the freedom to do good or evil, wouldn't it have a moral fall when it takes the wrong path, considering that it ends up doing evil that it didn't do before?

This proposition is no more tenable than the previous one. There is only a fall when passing from a relatively good state to a worse one. Now, created simple and ignorant, the Spirit is, in its origin, in a state of moral and intellectual nullity, like the child that has just been born. If it hasn't done evil, it hasn't done good either; it is neither happy nor unhappy; it acts without conscience and without responsibility. Since it has nothing, it can lose nothing and cannot retrograde. Its responsibility only begins when its free will develops. Its primitive state is therefore not one of intelligent, reasoned innocence. Consequently, the evil it does later on, by breaking God's laws and abusing the faculties it has been given, is not a return from good to evil, but the consequence of the bad path it entered on.

This brings us to another question. Could Nero, for example, while incarnated as Nero, have committed more evil than in his previous incarnation? To this we answer "yes", which does not imply that in the existence in which he had done less evil he would have been better. To begin with, evil can change form without being a greater or lesser evil. Nero's position as emperor, having put him in the spotlight, allowed his actions to be noticed more. In an obscure existence, he may have committed equally reprehensible acts, albeit on a smaller scale, which went unnoticed. As a ruler, he could have ordered the burning of a city. As an ordinary person, he could burn down a house and cause his family to perish. An ordinary murderer who kills a few travelers to dispossess them, if he were on the throne, would be a bloodthirsty tyrant, doing on a large scale what his position only allows him to do on a small scale.

Looking at the question from another point of view, we can say that a man can do more evil in one existence than in the previous one, show vices that he didn't have, without this implying moral degeneration. It is often the occasions that are lacking to do evil. When the principle exists in a latent state, the occasion comes and the bad instincts are revealed.

Ordinary life offers us numerous examples of this: A man who was thought to be good suddenly reveals vices that no one suspected, and which cause admiration. It's simply because he knew how to conceal it, or because a cause provoked the development of a bad germ. It is quite certain that those in whom good feelings are strongly rooted do not even have the thought of evil. When such a thought exists, the germ exists. Often all that is missing is the execution.

Then, as we said, evil, even in different forms, is still evil. The same vicious principle can be the source of many different acts stemming from the same cause. Pride, for example, can cause a great number of faults to be committed, to which one is exposed as long as the radical principle is not extirpated. A person can therefore have faults in one life which he would not have shown in another, and which are nothing more than the various consequences of the same vicious principle.

For us, Nero is a monster because he committed atrocities. But is it believable that these perfidious, hypocritical men, real vipers who sow the poison of slander, despoil families through cunning and abuse of trust, who cover their misdeeds with the mask of virtue in order to reach their ends more safely and receive praise when they only deserve execration, is it believable, we said, that they are better than Nero? Certainly not. Being reincarnated in a Nero would not be a regression for them, but an opportunity to show themselves in a new light. In this condition, they will display the vices they used to hide. They will dare to do by force what they used to do by cunning - that's all the difference. But this new trial will only make their punishment more terrible if, instead of taking advantage of the means given to them to make amends, they use them for evil. However, every existence, no matter how bad, is an opportunity for the Spirit to progress. It develops its intelligence and acquires experience and knowledge that will later help it to progress morally.