Superstition in the nineteenth century and its interaction with the Christian Faith

 For much of history the word “superstition” has been used to describe rival religious practices so a fitting modern definition might encompass all religion. Enlightenment thinking promoted science often at the expense of religion. An essay by the Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776) entitled “Of superstition and enthusiasm” included the following summary of the meaning of superstition: “ceremonies, observation, mortifications, sacrifices, presents or any practices, however absurd or frivolous which either folly or knavery recommends to a blind and terrified credulity”. According to Hume superstitious people were drawn to priestly mediators, such as those of the Roman Catholic Church. Hume’s understanding of “enthusiasm” referred to those who felt they could experience the divine directly.

In previous centuries Protestants had attacked Roman Catholic rituals as being based on superstition but in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the position changed as Enlightenment thinkers like Hume used direct indictments of all religious practices. In the United States especially spiritualism emerged as a religious alternative often among protestants. The spiritualists found common ground with Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians in the belief that anyone, not just those chosen by God could achieve salvation. One of the attractions of spiritualism was that women could could be prominent in leadership roles in a way that they could not be in mainstream denominations like the Church of England. In the Victorian era the home was regarded as the centre of religious and moral life and women were usually at the centre of the home so mediums were often drawn from the young women of the household who were yet to take full responsibility for the home. Less than one hundred years after the phase of executing women for witchcraft women now emerged as conjurors of spirits from another world. Some routes of European and North American spiritualism involved magnetism.

One group though who had their origins in the Christian faith were the Shakers, a religious group from Northern England who split from the Quakers in 1747. Shakers got their name from the body movements they exhibited during acts of Worship. They would dance and sing and some would enter a trance. Shakerism reached its peak between 1820 and 1860 and the period from 1837 until 1850 was known as the “era of manifestations” when people in the movement regularly spoke in tongues, guided by the Holy Spirit.

In our world today we see footballers who always wear a certain number on their shirts or eat a specific food before a match. We see lucky charms and potions advertised for all sorts of ailments.

How many superstitions do you have? Do you know you have them?

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