The first female in America to address mixed crowds at a public event, Frances Wright was one of the first American feminists, and female abolitionists, a champion of worker’s rights, and a sharp critic of religious institutions. Frances was the first American to write eloquently of sexual passion as a wonderful pleasure, not a sinful … Continue reading
”Inspiration and Aspiration” by Solon Borglum, in the garden of St. Mark’s of the Bowery, commissioned by William Guthrie Christianity remains the most acceptable, best-known and officially sanctioned religion in America, but American Metaphysical Religion has intersected and in many ways transformed Christian belief and practice. The brothers Guthrie are an excellent example of the … Continue reading
Alexander Wilder, pioneer of holistic medicine, helped Madame Blavatsky finish her classic book Isis Unveiled. As a young man he was a member of the notorious Oneida cult. As a politician and journalist he fought against slavery then helped kick Boss Tweed out of New York. He lectured at the famous New England Transcendentalist Concord … Continue reading
Puritan alchemists founded America; sounds like bad fiction but it’s fact. As befits a young republic, the history of the earliest origins of American Metaphysical Religion amounts to a long list of extraordinary characters, daring experiments, and unlikely friendships. We’ll meet alchemists who persecuted witches, alchemists who were governors, and several alchemists who served as … Continue reading
One of America’s favorite hobbies since at least the 19th century has been attempted communication with the dead. From backwoods cults of pre-Revolutionary days to distinguished university professors, Americans of every race and religious tradition have been preoccupied with ghostly chats. In 2012 on television the Long Island Medium delivers a message from the dead … Continue reading
Prague Castle at night. What is a Bohemian? Bohemian. The word in English is a polite way of dismissing a beatnik, hippie, or hipster. To say that someone is bohemian accuses them of being artistic, kooky, way out of the ordinary, probably devoted to underground arts or shady spiritual pursuits. In the early 19th century … Continue reading
Did you ever hear the story of how your parents met? We pretend America began with the Pilgrims but our unclaimed spiritual heritage starts much earlier. According to the current consensus, twelve thousand years before European colonists landed, Paleolithic tribes arrived having hunted mammoths, mastodons, and caribou from generation to generation across a continent. They … Continue reading
He arrives at the end of the Renaissance with a mind so modern he was more suited for Silicon Valley than Elizabethan London. Thomas Harriot was the first to assemble and use a telescope in England. Months before Galileo, he was the first human being to accurately map the surface of the moon. He was … Continue reading
The All Seeing Eye caps the American pyramid. When most people think of American religion we think of evangelicals preaching to huge stadiums, or Protestant ministers in neighborhood churches, or choirs in southern Baptist congregations. Most Americans believe America is a Christian country, founded by Christians. But a new vision of American history has been … Continue reading
