spiritualism

American  

[spir-i-choo-uh-liz-uhm] / ˈspɪr ɪ tʃu əˌlɪz əm /

noun

1. the belief or doctrine that the spirits of the dead, surviving after the mortal life, can and do communicate with the living, especially through a person (a medium) particularly susceptible to their influence.

2. the practices or phenomena associated with this belief.

3. the belief that all reality is spiritual.

4. Metaphysics. any of various doctrines maintaining that the ultimate reality is spirit or mind.

5. spiritual quality or tendency.

6. insistence on the spiritual side of things, as in philosophy or religion.

---

spiritualism British  

/ ˈspɪrɪtjʊəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. the belief that the disembodied spirits of the dead, surviving in another world, can communicate with the living in this world, esp through mediums

2. the doctrines and practices associated with this belief

3. philosophy the belief that because reality is to some extent immaterial it is therefore spiritual

4. any doctrine (in philosophy, religion, etc) that prefers the spiritual to the material

5. the condition or quality of being spiritual

---

Other Word Forms

• antispiritualism
  noun
• antispiritualistic
  adjective
• spiritualist
  noun
• spiritualistic
  adjective
• spiritualistically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of spiritualism

First recorded in 1825–35; spiritual + -ism

Example Sentences

Gef also caught the attention of adherents to Spiritualism, a then-popular movement that claimed humans could communicate with the spirit world through mediums and ghosts.

From National Geographic • Sep. 19, 2023

Spiritualism may have spurred her archaeological patronage, just as it motivated investigations at other famous sites, especially Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset.

From Salon • Feb. 8, 2021

The Foxes’ exploits contributed to the birth of Spiritualism, though one later admitted they had made their experiences up.

From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2018

Practitioners of Spiritualism even claimed to communicate with the dead, using séances and mysterious rapping sounds from table tops.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Rejecting traditional religion’s emphasis on sin and punishment, Modern Spiritualism was rooted in personal happiness on earth and in the heaven of Summerland, as well as a desire for world harmony.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock