A Little Outpost: The Ballarat Spiritualist Fellowship and the Spiritualist Church Movement in Australia

This article explores the short life of the Ballarat Spiritualist Fellowship and the Spiritualist history of its founder, Lorraine Culross (b. 1952), to offer both a "wide-angle" and "up-close" account of Australian Spiritualism and the fortunes of its churches, especially in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nova religio
Main Author: Singleton, Andrew (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: University of Californiarnia Press 2022
In: Nova religio
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Ballarat (Victoria, Staat) / Spiritism / Church / Medium
RelBib Classification:AG Religious life; material religion
AZ New religious movements
KBS Australia; Oceania
Further subjects:B Mediumship
B Spiritualism
B spirit communication
B Spiritualist churches
B Australia
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Description
Summary:This article explores the short life of the Ballarat Spiritualist Fellowship and the Spiritualist history of its founder, Lorraine Culross (b. 1952), to offer both a "wide-angle" and "up-close" account of Australian Spiritualism and the fortunes of its churches, especially in the postwar era. Spiritualism first came to Australia in the nineteenth century, in the form of public lectures, stage demonstrations, and private séances. A church movement quickly appeared, and dozens of congregations opened in the first few decades of the twentieth century. Today, only a handful of these "legacy" churches still run, fortunate to own a dedicated building. Beyond that, many other tiny churches, like the Ballarat Spiritualist Fellowship, have come and gone across many decades. These churches could open easily because of the commitment of enthusiastic Spiritualists, an absence of a rigid ecclesiastical hierarchy, and charismatic forms of social organization. However, as the case of Ballarat shows, these same characteristics mean that most churches have a precarious existence. This mutability characterizes Spiritualism's story as one of Australia's longest lasting and most durable alternative spiritual movements. Australian Spiritualism has evolved, changed, and survives, despite the travails of many church closures.
ISSN:1541-8480
Contains:Enthalten in: Nova religio
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1525/nr.2022.26.2.70