Spiritualism

 Spiritualism has an illustrious past! It was once the religion of the elite, promoted by prominent intellectuals, such as those who supported women’s rights and animal welfare. We want to be friendly, open and kind, especially to those who attend meetings for the first time and might be nervous. As people approach a religious centre, they expect to meet with those who walk a spiritual path and practice spiritual values. Religious institutions must be at the centre of eliminating discrimination and victimisation. Most of all people must be able to expect the law to protect them!

Each centre should have an equality, a diversity, a complaints and a disciplinary procedure that includes an anti-bullying policy that insists on the equality of gender, race, religion, orientation, age, ability and colour. The Committee has the responsibility to ensure that safe and fair behaviour takes place on their church premises. 

Prejudice and bullying is unacceptable and must be reported and dealt with promptly by the Committee. Prejudices are illegal as are threats, demands, intimidation, exclusions, slander, circulating untrue or unverified rumours, blackmail and harassment. Anyone witnessing victimisation should record it and report it because often the victim is too traumatised to deal with it and avoids the church and the church members in future.    

 I will give a couple of examples of distressing episodes that I have been told about.  

Story 1. A lady joined an open development group at a church and was asked to do platform mediumship to a public group. Before going on stage, a person from the church asked her to go to an elderly man in a bright blue jacket and give a message from his wife that she was pleased he had sold the house. On the platform, the new recruit did this! When she was invited into a closed group, she was told everything that took place was confidential. The tutor began to give her bizarre messages that were obviously fantasies. When she complained, he said he knew she was told about the house sale of the man in the blue jacket and that she was a fraud. She was deeply upset. She reported to the committee that she felt she was under psychic attack, but the committee said that they could do nothing because everything was confidential in his group but they could help by giving her healing for the psychic attack but the cost would be £200.

Story 2. A young woman had attended an open development group at a Spiritualist church and within weeks, she thought she had a disruptive spirit in her home and invited a Spiritualist healer to rid her home of the unwanted energy. It cost £150 and the second time he visited her he was drunk, offered to do the removal free of charge, and sexually assaulted her.  So she went to the police. “Where did you meet him?” they asked. “In a Spiritualist development group” she replied. “What do you do there?” they asked. “We contact dead people and deliver their messages”, she replied. Immediately, she was told that she would be a bad witness in a court of law and that they could take no action for someone who heard voices!