When people hear the word, “spiritualism,” they think of tarot readings, seances, and religion. But that’s not all there is to it. While it is most definitely that deep faith you might feel in God, it can also be a part of everyday life, it's in the little nothings that almost everybody shares. It's in the politics that you wait with bated breath to hear the outcome of, It's in the Sports team that you hope or pray will win, It’s in the laws of the universe that scientists base their experiments on, and the sacred constants like Avegodrow’s Number or the Pythagorean Theorem that determine their calculations. It’s even in the nihilism of the most staunch atheists that believe with every fiber of their being that there is nothing out there, that unmoving belief itself of the vast nothingness of the universe is the rooted knowledge that keeps them sane, that gives them something to believe in I know from experience. Spiritualism is everywhere you believe deeply in something.

     I am an atheist, though it is a bit more complicated than that. I was raised Jewish but in a culture that held very lax beliefs in the actual deity, and more so believed in family, and community. So as I became a teenager and started to question things it wasn't that hard a leap to make from Jewish to atheist. But I still consider myself Jewish in a way, you see it is impossible for me to believe in some figure watching us from the heavens knowing whether or not we have been arbitrarily good or bad, but as I sit in the pews looking up at the beautiful gilt Torah and hear the canticle chanting of the choir it is hard not to dismiss that stirring feiling. The same holds true to a religion that I have never been a part of, Christianity. As I walk into a huge cathedral and see the cunningly wrought stained glass windows, the magnificent dripping architecture, the thrumming organ music that vibrates through me, and most importantly the way the other people in the building treat the space with reverence, I feel a spiritual stir in my mind. So how could this feeling of divinity that is reliably induced by a house of worship not signal the presence of a god? Because the houses of worship – intentionally or not – are fine-tuned to elicit spirituality, they have all of the things that would induce spiritualism in any other environment. The utter and unwavering deep belief, the untold beauty of the art and architecture. That makes it nearly impossible not to feel the presence of ‘god.’ That is the reason that religions like Christianity (and other religions and forms of spiritualism) have spread across the globe like wildfire. 

It is a beautiful thing to see people across the world rally over something that can transcend borders and language. But as with most things in the world, when there is something that people follow, somebody will take advantage of it for their own ends. Christianity is a good example of this because over the course of its history certain sections of the church have been corrupted for the benefit of the patriarch. As the church grew the power structure grew into a complex hierarchy eventually culminating in the ultimate position of power: the pope. Throughout history, many popes have deviated from the godly path: throwing lavish parties, indulging in all forms of excess, being easily bribable, and creating sales of indulgences. But how could such a corrupt system hold power over so many people, the answer is by withholding knowledge. The average serf could not read Middle English, let alone Latin. But all the principles of catholicism were recorded in a book which was written in Latin which only the priest could read. Giving them the position to exploit the serf’s faith — or, their spiritualism. They had a way of unquestionably saying that anything was the word of God because ‘it says it in the book.’ By denying anybody the right to critical thinking, these spiritual leaders could exploit their communities for money power, and much worse. 

Personally, this reminds me of a cult. In a shorter timeline cults deny you the right to question or have access to the information that is gifted by the higher power, often the cult leader has some type of one-way connection with the divine that known else can access. I think a classic example of this is the FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints), which used the Book of Mormon to allow its leader Warren Jeffs and the ‘council of elders’ to take dozens of wives (some underage). Jeffs literalized and expanded upon the book of Mormon, like Al-Qaeda and the Westboro Baptist Church. You might say that it is outrageous for me to compare Christianity to these cults because far worse things happen in a cult, but Christianity (as well as most all religions) has many blatant examples of financial and sexual exploitation. Religion is so effective at taking advantage of your spiritualism that no matter who you are, it is very hard not to be a bystander. These religions can be practiced morally and safely, but their leaders should not be given the social standing, political authority and moral exemption to have the power to get away with these heinous acts, sometimes unquestioned.

I have just made some very strong criticisms against institutionalized religion. I said that institutionalized religion harnessed spiritualism to get away with the exploitations that it survives on. But I also explained that spiritualism is an integral part of humanity, not only is it impossible to live without but it is unhealthy to deny—like so many atheists who, whenever they feel a moment of spiritualism, have the need to explain it away or suppress it with logic. But maybe, rather than trying to understand, you can enjoy the beauty of that feeling and keep all of your scientific beliefs about the universe. They seem like contradictory statements so what do I recommend you do? Well, it's up to you, because I will not be a hypocritical sycophant who tells you not to follow blindly in one breath and in the other tells you how to live. Instead of following blindly, maybe use your critical thinking and see if this can apply to your life: see the beautiful spiritualism in your everyday life that is not under religion or strictly within the bounds of scientific meaning, the sunset painting the sky in uncountable hues, the beautiful acts of kindness humans perform every day, empathy, and the myriad other happenings of beauty and love that comprise every day spiritualism. And after seeing all of the unconditional beauty and spiritualism in the world, think about whether or not you need the lens of religion or cold hard logic to paint it in its own colors or if it is even more beautiful unconditionally. But if I haven't managed to convince you then at least remember to never suppress critical thinking. No matter what you believe, never let it control you without asking if this is hurting yourself or others.