Have Animals Souls ? The Late-Nineteenth Century Spiritual Revival and Animal Welfare

Abstract

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, a shift occurred in the way the human–animal relationship was understood. Under a variety of influences, including transcendentalism, Theosophy, Buddhism, Hinduism and Darwinism, the concept of animals as rational, intelligent, and possessing souls that could survive bodily death gained popular acceptance, though the latter point was not conceded by Anglican or Catholic Churches, which maintained there was an absolute theological distinction between humans and animals.