Spiritism Statistics – 6 to 7 million in 1868
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.
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.