<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.>
Maria Gilmore wrote:
A number of the more intellectual leaders of British imperialism were interested in spiritualism at the turn of the century and later, including Winston Churchill, Arthur Conan Doyle, Arthur Balfour and his siblings and their aristocratic connections (indeed, Balfour's younger brother gave up a career in politics to devote himself full time to "psychic research"). Does anyone have any ideas about the attraction of spiritualism to such men as these as well as to American radical feminists?
K.Mickey