New Thought

American  

noun

1. a system of doctrine and practice originating in the 19th century and stressing the power of thought to control physical and mental events.

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New Thought British  

noun

1. a movement interested in spiritual healing and the power of constructive thinking

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• New Thoughter
  noun
• New Thoughtist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of New Thought

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

It has all sorts of religious teachings which he takes from various strands of African-American religious traditions, as well as things like New Thought, which is a 19th-century Protestant idea, very American, faith healing.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2022

By the early twentieth century, New Thought had shifted its focus from health and social betterment to the attainment of wealth.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 28, 2019

“But that’s just basic New Thought philosophy that’s been around since the late 1800s, early 1900s.”

From Slate • Aug. 7, 2019

People like Cyrus Teed and Father Divine were only the most zealous exponents of America’s unofficial national faith: a spiritual smorgasbord of positive thinking, seasoned by the eclectic 19th-century movement known as New Thought.

From New York Times • Apr. 26, 2019

The New Thought is not a religion of Sundays, but of every day.

From The Heart of the New Thought by Wilcox, Ella Wheeler