Paul Henry Rosenberg wrote:
<Spiritualism began in feminist circles, which were quite small at the time, and spread much more widely than feminism per se did. It offered a stark contrast to the harsh and impersonal Calvinism of the Second Awakening, and was much more congenial to women. It spoke directly totheir common suffering, especially their loss of infants and young children, who of course died in numbers unimaginable today.>
I would definitely agree that the comforting aspects of spiritualism were its' selling point; I would also point out that the US, at the time of spiritualism's ascendancy, was still trying to cope with the horrific losses of the first modern war. Traditional Christianity just did not make it for many people when it came to dealing with the unprecedented carnage of the American Civil War.