The idea of "Religion" in the Russian esotericism of the late 19th - Early 20th centuries: The case of Moscow spiritualist circle

Abstract

Representatives of modern spiritualism had their own ideas about "religion" as a specific phenomenon and were familiar with discussions of theologians, philosophers, and scientists about its nature. This article uses historical sources pertaining to the activity of a large association of Russian spiritualists of the early 20thcentury, i.e. Moscow Spiritualist Circle (later Russian Spiritualist Society). The primary materials (Doctrine of spirits and Immortality according to Asian Rosicrucians' traditions) reveal spiritualists' understanding of the genesis, essence, classification, and future of religion. Spiritualists defined "religion" as the result of spirits' activity, divided religions into more and less perfect, and argued that the best religion is Christianity. Spiritualists associated the evolution of religion with the destiny of nations and assumed that national religions, as well as polytheistic religions, represented its early forms. German idealistic philosophy influenced the views of the members of Moscow Spiritualist Circle on the nature of religion. Similar to those historians of religion who adhere theism, they regarded history of religion as a teleological process and thought that the comparative method would allow one to approach the understanding of the essence of religion. Spiritualists' ontology may be defined as a spiritualistic monism; this being said, spiritualists regularly underlined their own adherence to theism. Members of Moscow Spiritualist Circle were familiar with contemporary psychological and anthropological theories of religion and considered mediumistic phenomena to be an empirical proof of certain theories. Spiritualists criticised Edward Taylor's theory of religion and believed that it unreasonably reduced naturalism to materialism, denying the existence of the spiritual world and reducing religion to a false ideology. Spiritualists appealed to the works of William James and other scholars who devoted themselves to studying the diversity of mystical experiences. The ontology of the spiritualists can be characterised as religious naturalism which allowed one to define religion as both a theological and anthropological phenomenon. Spiritualists' views of the nature of "religion" help us expand our knowledge of the formation of the idea of religion in the late 19th- early 20thcenturies.